ALIENS: EPIDEMIC
by Anguirus1955
Summary: On the colony of LV-475, known to its inhabitants as Blue Gemini, life is peaceful and serene. In May of 2183, however, colonists are starting to go missing, and after a month of escalating disappearances and other disturbances, the soldiers of Colonial Army Base A-001 find themselves dealing with something that their training never prepared them for.
1. LV-475

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

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 **CHAPTER 01: LV-475  
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 **DATE: SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2183**

 **United States Colonial Army Base A-001, Diamond Valley Province, Continent of Rosewind, Colony of LV-475 aka "Blue Gemini", The Palvero System**

In the deepest reaches of the outer rim territories, a small blue and green dot orbited a large star. It was one of many rocks that orbited the star Palvero, and the only one in the habitable zone. The planet had oceans and continents, islands and streams, grassy plains and harsh deserts. It was very much like the planet that its current inhabitants hailed from, or at least their ancestors did. LV-475 was known affectionately as Blue Gemini, as it was a lone oasis in an otherwise desolate planetary system which, despite having other bodies filled with valuable materials and elements, was otherwise a dreary and dark void.

Nearly all of the other planets and moons in the system had been given small colonies, although they were mining colonies, with enclosed habitats and perhaps a few atmosphere processing stations scattered about to provide breathable atmosphere on what were otherwise barren rocks. The grassy green hills of Blue Gemini were a stark contrast to the lifeless and sometimes ominous curved rocks and plateaus, rising high with shadows as great as their peaks, found on the desolate wastelands that comprised the surfaces of the other moons and planets in the system. Space was vast and infinite, yet life could only be found in small pockets, or had to be taken from one place to another.

Dotting various parts of the system were orbital stations, gateways and commuting stops that served to both welcome visitors and usher out denizens who finally were able to leave. Some stations were mining stations, processing and refining the various elements and minerals retrieved from the asteroids and moons littering the system, housing dozens, if not hundreds, of workers and their families, in addition to company staff. Other stations were simply relay locations, where the only personnel needed were the handfuls of synthetics who maintained both the stations and each other.

One orbital station, however, was unique in that it was tethered to the planet below via a space elevator. A large shuttling structure that extended far beyond the various spheres of the planet and well into orbiting distance itself. This station was used for ferrying automated shuttles full of cargo and people both to and from the planet and elsewhere.

The elevator fed directly from the station all the way into the city of Diamond Bay, a moderately-sized city that was undergoing constant expansion each year as its population continued to grow. It currently held over four thousand people, although the outlying farms and small suburban "islands" that popped up between stretches of road, forests, and plains certainly added a few hundred more people to the greater populace.

The farms that filled up the continent, both within the valley and on the other side of the mountain range, were a mix of dairy farms and meat farms, with the dairy farms being the only ones with cows, while the meat came from poultry farms (which bred chickens, turkeys, and ostriches), and pig farms. There were also a handful of sheep farms as well, for wool. In addition to those, there were various farms for vegetation, and a few vineyards. There were also a handful of rice paddies spread throughout the continent, with artificial waterways and controlled irrigation routes for the crops.

The continent also had a population of "wild" ostriches, chickens, and turkeys, which helped feed the wild population of predators that had been introduced to the planet, including coyotes, foxes, and cougars, to provide a balanced ecosystem alongside the other prey animals such as deer, rabbits, and various rodents, including squirrels and chipmunks. In addition to these creatures, there were also snakes, turtles, bugs, and a variety of fish that had been introduced as well. Humans were never alone when they colonized other worlds. There were always other creatures to accompany them and provide companionship, food, and other resources.

There were also several "pioneer" homes, settlements built into the mountains with self-sustained power generators that cropped up from place to place. The Rossfield Mountains were what separated the Diamond Valley Province from the rest of the continent, with only two small rocky pass to allow travel in and out of the valley. One pass was wide enough that a rail system had been developed to allow relatively quick passage from the valley to the other colony settlements on the continent. The other pass was much smaller, and could only allow a few vehicles through at a time. It was also located at a much higher elevation than the train passage, and was more difficult to reach. Of course, the city of Diamond Bay had several ports for boats and barges, which also provided a means of transportation.

The mountain range, great in both height and length, was also large in width, as certain sections of the mountains seemed different geographically from one another. On the West side of the mountain range, at least three atmosphere processors had been built and were lying dormant until needed, a precaution for the only habitable planet in the system, to ensure that any catastrophes would be cleaned up or offset as quickly as possible. Theses facilities were fully automated, but they still had some synthetic staff performing routine maintenance, along with a few human inspectors who would check on the machines now and then to make sure that everything was in working order.

On the East side of the mountain range, aside from the farms and suburban pockets, the only other major population center in Diamond Valley was a lone military compound, located a little over 100 kilometers, or 62.14 miles (rounded) from Diamond Bay. United States Colonial Army Base A-001 was the home of the LV-45 A-Company, with bases A-002 and A-003 containing B and C-companies, respectively. A single battalion was all that protected the continent, but each company was spread out to ensure maximum coverage of the continent.

Currently, the companies at each base were comprised of recent graduates from training centers located on the West side of the continent, as well as older personnel transferred from other bases throughout the core systems. Most military bases throughout the systems were Colonial Marine bases, but every few dozen colonies there would be at least one with an Army center or collection of Army bases.

The Colonial Marines were often shipped out from their bases to deal with problems occurring far away on other worlds, while the Colonial Army primarily stayed in a fixed location, i.e. on whichever colonized world the base was located. Because of this, many colonists usually chose to join the Colonial Army if said branch had an available location on their world, even though the Colonial Marines were far more widely recognized and well known. Almost all colonies had a minimum of three squads of Colonial Marines stationed around the largest population center(s) for security purposes, even those with Army bases, occasionally sharing resources if necessary until resupply shuttles arrived at their location.

In orbit around Blue Gemini at any one time, however, were at least two Conestoga-class troop transport ships, used primarily by the Colonial Marines, but often loaned to the Colonial Army in order to transport cargo and supplies, in addition to various personnel who were being transferred to and/or from the bases on the planet below.

Presently, LV-475 A-Company was comprised of six squads, all named after various animals, with a staff of up to 87 personnel, with six human Commissioned Officers, one synthetic, and 73 enlisted personnel making up the six squads, with an additional 4 personnel as drop-ship pilots. The six squads that made up A-Company were Wolf Squad, Hornet Squad, Eagle Squad, Bear Squad, Cougar Squad, and Python Squad. Each squad had between 12 and 13 soldiers, with at least one squad leader and 3 or 4 fire-team leaders, with the squad leader functioning as one of said fire-team leaders depending on the size of the squad.

Presently, A-Company was undergoing a change in personnel, as some enlisted personnel had been promoted, others remained stagnant, and a few were being transferred off-world to other locales for further training to accommodate their new ranks. One of the few recently-promoted individuals not being transferred was one Captain Burt Rosenthal, formerly 1st Lieutenant Burt Rosenthal a few days earlier. He was replacing Captain George Stevens as the ranking CO of the base and company, as Captain Stevens was being transferred off-world to another post located in the Sol system. Three other high-ranking officers were being transferred as well, including Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thomas Macrosky, 1st Lieutenant Barbara Sternwell, and Master Sergeant Carl Simmons.

For the next 24 hours, the base's personnel were throwing a going-away party for their comrades, albeit with stern supervision from the highest-ranking CO's still remaining, such as 2nd Lieutenant Mathew Dent, a somewhat lazy officer who had lost all ambition to move up in rank after achieving his current position. That being said, he was still quite cunning and sharp when it suited him, and he was, despite being a bit of a slacker, one of the more responsible personnel at the base. He usually just preferred to play lazy and stupid to make people lower their guard around him.

Also being promoted was 1st Lieutenant, formerly 2nd Lieutenant, Kimberly Hargrove. Unlike Dent, Hargrove never slacked, and always maintained a responsible air about her. She still had ambitions to move up in rank if the opportunity presented itself, but was otherwise content with where she was.

The other high ranking officers at the base, Warrant Officer George Jonas, Staff Sergeant Verl Williams, and Technical Officer Michael Rook, were all staying in their current positions, as no other promotions were available to them at that time. Technical Officer Michael Rook was the base's synthetic, and while Technical Officer was a position created specifically for synthetics that served alongside military personnel within the Colonial Army, Rook also served as the base's main physician and a backup medical officer.

Inside the main office that George Stevens was vacating, Captain Stevens and recently-promoted Captain Rosenthal looked over logistic plans. Lieutenant Hargrove and Dent were also both in the room with them. After stepping away from the desk, Stevens looked at the three officers in the room with him and smiled.

"So, what time is this party supposed to happen?" Stevens asked them. Rosenthal smirked and rolled his eyes. "Well, that's classified, Captain. However, I do think it will happen sometime... today, I believe," Rosenthal responded coyly.

"Do you want me to act surprised when I show up to it, or... I dunno, just go along with whatever's happening?" Stevens asked them as he adjusted his cap. "Well, you should probably wear your mess uniform," Rosenthal replied. Stevens mulled this over in his head.

"If I wear the mess uniform, I can't exactly act surprised, can I? Ah, oh well. I guess I'll just waltz in an have a good time with the others," he said with a sigh. Stevens glanced over at Dent, who was sitting backwards in a chair. "Dent, you really have no aspirations to move up, do you?" Stevens asked him in exasperation.

"No sir," Dent replied curtly, his brown eyes locking with Stevens' blue eyes. Letting out a resigned sigh, Stevens slowly shook his head. "Boy, you're a disappointment," Stevens said candidly, knowing that he wouldn't have much more time around these people. "I'm aware of that, Captain," Dent replied with a wry smile.

"Stand up straight, Lieutenant," Stevens ordered crisply. Dent recognized the tone that Stevens was using, and he immediately shot up from the chair and saluted the man in front of him. "At ease, Dent. At ease," Stevens said with a snicker. Dent smirked at Stevens before lowering his arm. While Dent may have been lax in his casual attitude around others, he still had great respect for his superior officers, especially Captain Stevens. He only acted in a candid manner around the man because he expressly allowed it.

"Well, all of you get on out of here and go about your normal duties. I'll see you all later today at... what time is this party supposed to start again?" Stevens asked once more. "Um... around fifteen hundred, sir," Hargrove said. "Fifteen hundred? Huh. Kind of early for a party, isn't it?" Stevens asked her.

"Well sir, you aren't the only person who's leaving," Hargrove replied. Stevens nodded his head in response. "Yeah, that's right. Who else is leaving? Sternwell? Macrosky? Simmons?" Stevens asked her. "Yes sir. They'll be leaving alongside you as you head to Sol," Hargrove replied.

"I'm gonna miss the lot of you," Stevens said with a tinge of regret in his voice. "We'll miss you as well, Captain," Dent said in response. "Good. If I come back and catch you being happy about my absence, I'm gonna kick your ass," Stevens said jokingly. Dent rolled his eyes and grinned playfully in response.

"Please, Captain. We both know that you'll just force me to clean all of the toilets in the base with a toothbrush," Dent said, remembering the punishments that Stevens had given him for major infractions several years earlier in their careers during their time at Army Base A-001. "Please, a toothbrush would be too lenient for you at this point," Stevens responded with a grin, causing the others to chuckle.

The group soon disbanded as Hargrove and Dent left the office. Rosenthal stayed behind with Stevens in order to catch up on learning his new responsibilities while he still had the older CO around to help him. It was a somewhat bittersweet experience for Rosenthal, as he certainly appreciated his new position, but he also knew that it came at the price of his senior officer soon leaving. He was hopeful and worried, all at once.

* * *

 **MEANWHILE, AT THE ROSSFIELD MOUNTAIN RANGE...**

Professor George Ladd aimed his flashlight at the curved ceiling of rock and dirt above him. Taking out a map, he gestured for his assistant, Sarah Wertzog, to come over and help him unfold it for a better look. "Yes, this is the one," Ladd said as he pointed to a small red line drawn on the map himself.

"Hey, Ladd! With how early we got here, I think we can slow down a bit. Let the others catch up before we move on again," Professor Frederick Bardem said as he walked up alongside his companions, gesturing for them to look behind him. Trailing behind the trio were at least seventeen other people, all members of a scientific research party funded by Weyland-Yutani to scout the mountain range for deep pockets of valuable elements and other minerals that could potentially be mined. Among the group was at least one synthetic, an old Harold 6 model from the late 2160's, designed for heavy labor in dangerous environments. Harold was carrying most of the heavy gear as the group entered the cave that stood before them.

"I think we should we set up camp and rest for a bit before we continue. I think we can spare an hour or two. Don't you?" Bardem asked Ladd. Ladd looked back over his shoulder at the men and women who were just now entering the cave and panting in exhaustion. They appeared to be tired from all of the hiking that they had been doing since before sunrise.

"Yeah," Ladd said before handing the map to Sarah and turning around, feeling a little tired himself. "Okay, everyone! We're going to stay here and rest for about an hour, and then we'll continue further into the cave," Ladd called out to the other researchers. With waves of their hands and grateful nods of their heads, everyone began unstrapping their backpacks and looking for spots to sit down and rest.

 **TWO HOURS LATER, DEEPER IN THE CAVERN...**

Carefully climbing down the short but steep cliff, Ladd stepped down onto flat ground. He aimed his flashlight at the ceiling above him, expecting more dirt and rock, only to notice that the cave seemed different now. There was no brown earthy rock or dirt, only a strange black and grey bony appearance. As several other members of the team set down alongside him, they began checking their equipment.

"Bardem, look at this," Ladd said as he shone his flashlight around at the strange surface of the walls and ceiling. Bardem followed his example and shone his flashlight around as well. "This... doesn't look right," Bardem commented as he noticed a distinct change in the appearance of the cavern around them.

The walls of the cavern were no longer recognizable as rock. The walls curved and protruded inwards and out as they rose above them, akin to the rib-cage of some great animal. "What is this?" Ladd asked rhetorically as he scanned the walls. Looking further down, he began moving closer to the walls, following them down a tunnel, a passage into the unknown. The rest of the team followed him with whispers of surprise and alarm as they paid notice to the change in surroundings.

Deeper and deeper they went, following the path that lay before them, taking heed to to mark their journey with small blue glow sticks every few meters, illuminating their way back to the safety of that which was known, _away_ from the _unknown_ that lied in the seemingly never-ending darkness ahead of them. Silently, the group eventually came upon what appeared to be a new wall. Unlike the bone-like structure of the walls around it, this wall had murals on the side of it, hieroglyphics, symbols... signs. Signs that were in an alien language that no one among the team could decipher, yet curiosity begged them to continue their trek and uncover their meanings.

Crouching down near the floor, Ladd illuminated the ground in front of him with his flashlight, scanning the wall and the floor for some kind of marking, anything to let him know that this was not the end of his journey. Reaching a gloved hand to the ground and feeling around, eventually moving his hands up the wall, Ladd frowned in frustration until he felt something round and firm. His eyes widening in surprise, he aimed his flashlight at the spot covered by his hand.

Moving his hand over the object and brushing dirt off of it, Ladd uncovered a pale orb. He called for his colleagues to join him. "Look at this!" he said in excitement. Bardem adjusted his glasses as he took a closer look at the object on the wall.

"What is that?" asked Melvin, a graduate student who was studying under Bardem.

Ladd and Bardem both studied the object closely. "I don't know," Ladd finally said, shrugging his shoulders. Ladd cautiously reached forward and pressed his gloved hand against the orb, feeling it once more. He slowly gripped his hand around it and tried to pull, only for the orb to lift ever so slightly before resetting itself in its hold. Releasing the orb, Ladd brushed his hand over the slightly raised circular ring around the orb, forcing dirt and dust off and onto the ground below.

Shining his flashlight on the ring, he saw small notches and geometric shapes. They were triangles, or arrows perhaps, but their meaning did not escape him. Ladd grabbed the orb again and gently turned it counter-clockwise, seeing it glow with a green hue before hearing a strange noise emanate from the wall. The wall soon began to raise itself from the ground, confirming Ladd's suspicions about the orb.

It was an alien doorknob.

Quickly covering his mouth, he gestured for Bardem to instruct the others in copying him as the door continued to rise into the ceiling, a low groaning sound filling everyone's ears in the process before it stopped and locked into place. Ladd aimed his flashlight up at the bottom of the door, seeing that it was a good half of a meter in width and two meters wide. The bottom itself also appeared to be the only thing made from some recognizable substance, as it looked like a cement mixture in terms of its outward textural appearance.

"Bardem," Ladd said after smelling and tasting the somewhat stale air that expanded out from beyond the door, "I think we've found some kind of relic."

Bardem nodded his head before glancing into the dark hallway that laid before them, its sides once again resembling the skeletal remains of some great behemoth. A chill ran up Bardem's spine as Ladd cautiously began venturing forth into the tunnel. Above them, small green orbs shone brightly along the ceiling.

Marking their path with another set of glow sticks, the group continued onward, with three of them electing to stay behind with their hiking gear and safety equipment. The other sixteen people continued onward, moving quietly into the dark cavernous hallway, illuminated only by faint green orbs on the ceiling. Eventually, the group reunited with Ladd, who had found an intersection of three other hallways, each ones having different colored orbs on the ceilings.

One tunnel to the group's left had an amber glow to it, while the one to their right had a bluish glow from its ceiling orbs. The one in front of them had a reddish glow. Glancing around, the group noticed that the hallways were not straight, but curved. There was no doubt that the hallway in front of them led to the center of the mountain, and that the other tunnels eventually reached the other side, as evidence by their curvature.

"Well, which way do we go?" Ladd asked as he glanced around at his team. "I say we keep going straight," Bardem suggested, although inside he wanted to leave. Something about the structure they had entered screamed danger to him, and with each passing moment, he felt more and more uneasy. He had seen alien relics on other worlds before.

During an archeological dig on LV-517, he'd seen structures made of granite, marble, and an unknown carbon alloy, mixed together to form structures that had withstood the biting wind and sands of time itself. Those structures had been made with clearly defined geometric shapes purposes. Everything on LV-517 had been _built_ by the beings who had once lived there.

But this place; it felt as though it had been _grown_. It felt as though it were natural and unnatural both at once, living and artificial together. It disturbed him to no end, but despite his unease, his natural curiosity eventually won out over his fear.

"Forward?" Ladd asked him. "Okay. Sounds good. Someone leave a marker here," Ladd said as he resumed walking forward through the tunnel. Santini, a mineralogist, set down a blue glow stick on the floor before catching up the others.

In front of the group, the floor began to slope upwards, narrowing as well, leading to a door at the top, with more orbs on the side. Remembering the orb from the entrance to the structure, Ladd grabbed the largest one and turned it, only for it to become stuck. He glanced at a smaller orb underneath the large one and turned the large one back to its original position. Pressing down, the small orb pushed inwards, acting as a button. Keeping it depressed, Ladd then slowly spun the other orb again, this time achieving the desired results.

The door opened with an odd sliding sound, and before the group was a large circular room, domed almost. As soon as they entered it, small white orbs dotting the walls began to glow, illuminating the interior of the room. At the top of the doorway, there was a room of some kind, with what looked to be some manner of control panel. There were windows of some kind, with some kind of thin transparent membrane filling them, almost akin to a flat bubble. It seemed to be an observation chamber.

To their left and right, there were slopes that led downwards, curving along with the room as they reached their respective landings. In the middle of the chamber was a set of narrow walkways, with guard rails on them as they led to a circular platform in the middle of the room that was suspended nearly two meters over several depressions, organized in blocs throughout the chamber, each holding some kind of blue mist in them, with small objects visible just beneath the surface of the mist. They almost appeared as three dimensional shadows under the mist, with no visible details. It was almost like looking at an indoor farm, with plowed fields sectioned up and organized into columns and rows.

Looking around at the sheer size of the chamber, Ladd opened his mouth in awe. "This... this place must take up half the mountain," he said as he looked at how high above them the curved ceiling of the room was. Looking back down at the center of the chamber, where the indoor alien farm was located, Ladd walked forward into the observation chamber, his team following him quietly.

"Harold," Ladd called out as he looked down at the fields of blue mist below. "Yes, Professor?" Harold asked in a demure fashion. Ladd gestured for the synthetic to join him in looking down at the misty fields below. "Harold, can you test the atmosphere down there? Can you... make sure that it's safe for us? I want to take a closer look, but... I want to make sure that it's safe first," Ladd said.

Harold nodded his head. "Yes, Professor. Just let me get some equipment ready and I'll head down there shortly. I have some instruments in my backpack for testing air quality," Harold continued. Ladd nodded his head in appreciation.

A few minutes later, the synthetic was making his way down the ramps and onto the walkways above the blocs of mist. Crouching down and reaching an arm through the guard rails of the walkway, Harold held out the air testing instrument and began to gently lower it into the mist, holding it by a thin metal wire as it descended.

When the instrument was fully beneath the surface of the mist, he held it in place for five minutes before pulling it back up and placing it in a small device he had set down next to him. He waited for the results to show up on the small LED screen on the front of the device, occasionally glancing around at the misty fields around him. While he did not feel the unease of some of his human teammates, Harold did notice that the facility in which he was located had some unusual physical attributes.

He raised an eyebrow as he saw how the walkway lacked the... _biomechanical_ feel of the rest of the chamber. Biomechanical; that was the word. _A term first coined by a Swiss artist in the mid-to-late twentieth century_ , Harold recalled as he accessed his memory banks.

It was a disturbing blend of organic and mechanical physical attributes.

A small beep soon alerted Harold to the conclusion of the air testing devices scan. The atmosphere under the mist was breathable. It was now time to send himself into the mist. There, his systems would be able to test for strains of bacteria, viruses, and other recognized microbes that were considered harmful to humans. It was a feature that Weyland-Yutani had built into many of the industrial model synthetics, especially those who operated in places with hazardous environments.

Testing the guard rail to see if it would hold his weight, Harold carefully bent down on it. When he was satisfied that it would hold, he began to climb over it, before glancing over at the main circular platform and noticing a ladder that descended into the chamber. Chastising himself for not performing a more thorough scan of the area, Harold stepped back onto the walkway and marched over to the circular middle platform, carefully carrying and then setting down his equipment before grabbing the ladder and descending into the mist below.

Because Harold's body was synthetic, and he did not contain any true red blood cells or other parts that could be negatively affected by diseases and other bacterea, Harold was able to safely analyze the contents of the air under the mist, which reacted when he broke its surface tension. There was a strange noise as his first foot went through it, although the whine eventually died down as he stilled himself.

Slowly, he descended further, until only his head was above the mist. Harold was at least six feet in height, not counting the hair on his head. Crouching down into the mist, Harold allowed his sensors to begin collecting data, staying in place for several minutes as his systems ran numerous scans and cross references.

Glancing at the strange pods on the ground around him, Harold began to study them. He shifted himself slightly so that he was facing one of the pods directly. Looking at it closely, it resembled an egg in its basic oval outline, but unlike any egg he had ever seen, this pod had four petals at the top of it. All four rounded tips of the petals were touching each other, like a flower waiting to bloom.

Reaching forward, Harold gently ran one of his hands against the side of the egg, allowing his tactile sensors to gather information about the surface of the pod. He was also able to gather data on any potential bacteria when he brought one of his fingers up to his mouth and sniffed it before licking. For a normal human, this would be incredibly stupid, but because Harold was a synthetic, he had nothing to fear. His body was artificial, with no sensitive organs or blood vessels to get infected by any harmful diseases.

He could not even carry diseases on his person, and he did not have a body temperature warm enough to allow any bacteria to thrive. His body temperature was not regulated by intricate and delicate organs and blood flow. His temperature was solely the result of his internal mechanisms performing their job, and even that was only truly residual heat produced by active atoms as the white pressure fluid flowed through his synthetic veins. It was paltry in comparison to the internal body temperature of a healthy human being, a dim candle in comparison to a camp fire.

When his systems could find no trace of any recognized illnesses, bacteria, diseases, viruses or dangerous gases, Harold emerged from the mist and climbed back up the ladder. He looked up at the observation chamber and waved, closing his fist and leaving his thumb up to give the 'okay' to Professor Ladd.

Grinning with satisfaction, Ladd began making his way down the ramp to the nearest walkway. Sarah and Bardem followed him closely, while other members of the team began making their way down the right-side ramp, heading onto small platforms that branched out over the misty fields. "Everyone begin collection samples. Nothing too large, though. And take pictures!" Ladd called out to his team as he approached the center platform where Harold was now waiting.

"Harold, can you make your way back to the entrance of the cave and find a way back to Diamond Bay? I want you to send a message to the campus, and maybe to the nearest Company office, about what we've found," Ladd said eagerly. "Do you wish for me to... repeat something that you have written, or should I use my own descriptions when giving them details?" Harold asked him as Melvin walked by him and began climbing down the nearest ladder. Two other men, both geologists named Lopez and Spencer, followed the grad student into the misty bloc to begin studying the pods.

"Wait, we don't know how those things react to organic material," Harold warned as he heard the whining beep of the mist reacting to Melvin breaking through it. "Hey, it should be fine," Ladd said reassuringly. "It didn't react to _you_ , right?" Ladd reminded the synthetic.

"Well, no. But-" "But nothing. Don't worry about it," Ladd said as he walked over and began climbing down the ladder after the other three men. "Very well, Professor. There aren't any recognizable toxins or harmful bacteria within the mist or on the pods. But do be careful when analyzing them," Harold asked. "We'll be careful, Harold," Ladd said.

Meanwhile, as all but one of the researchers entered the fields below, the lone stray, a physicist named Malcolm, was studying the controls of the observation deck. He retrieved a camera from his backpack and began taking pictures of the array of orbs, dials, and other seemingly organic components which lined the control panels. He took pictures of the windows before looking down and seeing something on the floor.

Crouching down, he carefully reached forward and touched the object with a gloved hand. He encircled his fingers around it and pulled it back, bringing it into the light. Malcolm looked at the object carefully. It was circular, in the shape of the letter 'C' or a lower case 'e', with a defined trigger guard and some kind of thin globulous trigger mechanism. The object was possibly some kind of weapon, with an odd greenish hue and a very clear metallic feel and texture, standing out from the organic look of the rest of th environment, which very much reminding Malcolm of the carcass of a rotisserie chicken he had eaten the other day.

Standing up while holding the potential alien gun, Malcolm opened his backpack and retrieved a large plastic zip-lock bag in which to place it. As he bent over, he saw something else on the floor. It looked like the fossilized remains of some animal. Crouching down, Malcolm reached forward and pulled back the fossil, inspecting it. It had a curled tail and eight finger-like appendages attached to a thin middle section, with two flaps behind the rear limbs and on either side of the tail. On the top of it was a singular black eye, along with a series of quills running down the middle of its back.

"What the hell are you?" Malcolm asked rhetorically as he inspected the (unknown to him) ancient prototype facehugger. Standing up, he knew he had to tell Professors Ladd and Bardem about his discovery, and so he placed a hand on the control panel, depressing a long rectangular prism made of soft material. His hand only pressed down on one side, and the bar glowed brightly under the hand, but the open section was faint.

Glancing down at the prism, Malcolm set down the dead alien and cautiously pressed his other hand down on the open end of the bar, holding it in for several seconds until a small green light began to shine from the top of the console. Not knowing what to do, Malcolm took his hands off of the bar. The door behind him began to slide shut, causing him to turn around in a panic.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, loud enough for Harold to hear him as he was making his way up the ramp. "Malcolm, what's wrong!?" Harold asked in concern as he began jogging up to the observation chamber. "I-I... I think I closed us in!" Malcolm panicked. "It's okay. We'll get through this. Remember, the door has controls right there on the wall. See them? Right there," Harold said as he pointed to the small orbs on the side of the wall next to the door.

Malcolm began breathing easier. "Oh. Right," Malcolm said in embarrassment. "You probably just activated a remote door control. If it's locked, do not panic. I have a crowbar in my pack with me, as mandated by my previous handler," Harold said, referring to the manager at the space elevator in Diamond Bay where he and many other synthetics were used for loading and opening various crates of supplies.

Setting his backpack on the floor, Harold retried the aforementioned crowbar before walking up to the door and turning the orbs, causing the door to slide open again. "See? Just a remote control," Harold said humorously. Malcolm let out a nervous chuckle in relief.

Meanwhile, down in the field blocs, all fifteen of the other researchers were descending into two of the many field blocs and moving close to the pods, preparing to collect samples and photograph their discovery. When one of them, Santini, placed his hands one one of the pods, he saw the opaque shell slowly become transparent, glowing almost. "G-Guys! Look at this!" Santini exclaimed in fascination as he pointed to the translucent section of the egg, where something could be seen fluttering within.

A similar phenomenon was occurring in the other field that had been entered. Up in the observation chamber, a small red orb began to glow ominously, catching the attention of Harold and Malcolm, who looked down at the field blocs. "Red lights are usually a bad sign, right? Or, maybe it's a good sign in an alien culture?" Malcolm asked optimistically.

Harold, however, paused to ponder Harold's query. "That is... an interesting perspective," Harold admitted thoughtfully. The membrane in the windows soon came to life, showing blue 3D outlines of the eggs in the field blocs as they began to hatch, their top petals opening like flowers. "Okay, that's _definitely_ not good," Malcolm muttered in realization.

Harold glanced down at the fields and began jogging down the nearest ramp.

Meanwhile, in one such field, Ladd was studying one of the eggs when the top opened with a creaking noise, much like a prolonged frog croak. Stepping back in surprise and hesitation, Ladd aimed his flashlight at the opening of the egg, slowly stepping back before bumping into his assistant, Sarah.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that another egg had also opened its petals. "Guys, come on!" he heard Bardem call out as he climbed the ladder onto the main platform. Bardem then turned around and held out his hands, gesturing for his comrades to join him. "Yes. Perhaps this is best viewed from a higher vantage point," Ladd said nervously as he pushed Sarah towards the ladder.

Meanwhile, Melvin was quickly weaving his way through the throng of pods, each one beginning to open as he walked past them, stepping on the tendrils around them. "Melvin, hurry up," Bardem hissed at the college student. Behind Melvin, Lopez and Spencer were attempting to crawl out onto the side ridges of the bloc, as two eggs opened up behind them.

Glancing back, Melvin first saw three, then five, and soon eight pink finger-like digits loom up and curl around the opened petals of an egg, he glanced around and saw more sets of pink fingers around the edges, with yellow bands on the knuckles as the creatures they were attached to began to rise up out of the eggs.

The creatures resembled hairless spiders, but with no eyes and pink skin, with yellow dots and bands running down the back and the tail. Melvin gulped as one raised up two of its digits into the air. It was almost cute, in a strange way, Melvin thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another creature rise up. This one was less fleshy, however. It had an armored section in the back of it, solid grey over purple flesh. There were also small quills running the back of its possible spine, along with a tail that whipped in the air, ending in a sharp black barb on the very end of it. The digits also had sharp nails, almost claw-like, on the end of them, and there was a thin web-like membrane between each digit.

Hearing a skittering sound on the ground, Melvin looked down and saw another of the tailed pink spider aliens approaching his legs. It held out its front digits to tap against Melvin's jeans, before Melvin raised his leg and stepped away from it. The creature then leapt forward and crawled up Melvin's leg, causing him to cry out in fear as he fell back against the ground, reaching down to swat the animal away.

"Melvin!" Bardem cried out in concern.

He didn't see a mouth on the alien, but when it raised itself up and sat back, he could see something else on the underside, something... odd. Melvin had almost no time to think about it, however, as the creature shot forward, leaping up onto his chest and scurrying forward to thrust itself onto his face, wrapping its tail around his throat and clamping its legs around his head. It then shot a long tube out of its underside, parting Melvin's jaws open and beginning the process that constituted the facehugger's purpose in life.

This same process, of course, began occurring with nine other researchers in the other field bloc, who had been attacked by tan-colored facehuggers. "Professor, get out of there!" Harold shouted as he jogged over to the platform. As Ladd climbed up the ladder, he felt a stinging sensation in his neck and reached up to find a quill protruding from it.

"Ah! Ow!" he muttered as he pulled out the quill. He pulled himself up onto the platform and looked back to see the armored facehugger, its quills now facing forward instead of back, and its tail poised as if to strike like a scorpion's tail. "We-We have to get out of here," Ladd urged as he stood up. He then glanced over at the side ridge of the field bloc after hearing Lopez and Spencer scream in terror, seeing both of them clutching at the pink and yellow-striped facehuggers attached to their faces before falling over back into the misty field.

"What is this place!?" Ladd asked fearfully as he began running across the walkway, Bardem, Sarah and Harold joining him. After reaching the ramps, Ladd began to feel dizzy. He grabbed his head and blinked several times.

"Professor!" Sarah cried out before she saw the group of pink facehuggers running across the walkway towards them. She bent down to help Ladd as he kneeled on the ground, only to yell out as she felt a quill hit her in the shoulder, piercing through her shirt. "Ah!" she cried out before seeing a pink facehugger jump up at her. She raised an arm to block it, but it merely wrapped its tail around her arm as she fell back. The creature soon overpowered her, and she too fell victim to the beast.

Harold urged Bardem to join Malcolm at the top. "Seal the room! Don't let them escape!" Harold called out to the two men as he reached down to help Ladd stand up, only for the armored facehugger to leap onto the man's back and lash out at the synthetic with its tail, cutting into his arm with its barb. Harold flinched in surprise before the royal facehugger ran down Ladd's front and then forced itself on him.

"Professor!" Harold cried out, just before a facehugger launched itself at him. The creature tapped him with its digits multiple times, before eventually leaping away and scurrying off. Harold blinked in confusion at this development, before hearing a cry of fear from above. Looking up, he saw Malcolm grasping at the tan facehugger that had attached itself to his face, while Bardem was trying to close the door from the other side.

Harold watched with dismay as one facehugger leapt through the door, followed by Bardem's shout of terror before he too was subdued. Bardem's efforts did payoff, however, as the door soon closed shut. Harold was now alone in the chamber, the sole conscious member of the expedition still inside the room.

 **ONE HOUR LATER...**

Sitting out by the entrance of the facility, the three remaining humans, a geologist named Mancini, a mineralogist named Howard, and a seismologist named Norman, were sitting down on the ground. "It's been a while now, hasn't it?" Mancini asked with concern as he looked at the entrance of the disturbing structure in front of them. Norman took a bite out of a candy bar before nodding his head in agreement.

"Over an hour now," Howard said as he checked his watch again. Leaning back against the rock wall, grabbing at one of the climbing ropes and tugging it gently, Norman took another bite out of his candy bar. "I'm gonna go check on them in there," Howard said as he stood up. Norman stood up with him, stuffing his candy bar into his pocket.

"I'll join you," Norman said as he grabbed a handful of glow sticks. "Mancini, stay here and wait for us. If we're not back in less than one hour, leave the cave and call for help. Something may have happened to the rest of the team," Norman said as he turned to look at Mancini. Mancini ave him a quick thumbs-up.

"You got it," Mancini said. As Norman and Howard departed, the geologist soon found himself alone in the dark, with only a data tablet to keep him company. Deciding to stave off boredom, he began accessing the various books he had downloaded on his tablet, searching for one to read as he passed the time.

 **TWENTY MINUTES LATER...**

 _The silk dress that Margaret wore hung limply from her shoulders, exposing her modest cleavage to Charles. The man was known for his stoic personality among his peers, but in that moment, all restraint was thrown to the wayside. Margaret held out a hand and beckoned him forward, slowly backing up towards the bed, her eyes half-lidded and lips pouting. At last, their desires could be fulfilled_.

 _Slowly, Margaret began to shrug off the dress, letting it fall limply to the floor, exposing her transparent bra and panties for Charles to see. Trailing her eyes downward, Margaret noticed that her actions had had the desired effect on Charles. Smiling and licking her lips at the prize that lay hidden behind his pants, Margaret reached back and removed her bra, letting it_ \- " _Aah!_ "

Mancini was interrupted from his heading by a faint cry in the distance. Glancing up from the tablet, he heard the sound of boots on the ground. "Howard? Norman?" Mancini asked with concern as he grabbed a flashlight and shone it down the tunnel. " _Run!_ " was the faint response that he heard. "Norman?" Mancini asked, recognizing his colleague's voice.

" _Mancini, run! Get the hell out of here! Run!_ " Norman shouted as he cam closer. Mancini saw the man enter his line of vision, sweat pouring down his face as he huffed with each stride. "Start climbing!" Norman shouted, his voice filled with fright.

"Where's Howard?" Mancini asked him, before he heard the strange scuttling sound on the ground. Shining his light on the ground, he looked behind Norman and saw several spider-like creatures with tails running across the ground, chasing the man. "What the hell are those!?" Mancini asked in alarm.

"Mancini, fucking go!" Norman shouted as one of the creatures caught up to him and leapt onto his back. Norman cried out in terror as the creature ran up onto his shoulder and onto the back of his head, causing him to cry out in alarm as it whipped its tail around his throat and swung itself around to align itself with his face. Norman reached up to grab at the creature before he fell forward onto the ground, his struggling soon ceasing.

Mancini watched the scene in terror and fascination before quickly turning around and grabbing the rope to start climbing. He quickly began pulling himself up onto the short cliff, before he heard the scuttling draw near, seeing a pink creature with yellow dots and stripes racing past him through the cave, followed by at least three more like it.

And then he felt the faint pressure on his back, and he reached behind to grab at the creature, only to loose his grip on the rope and fall back onto the ground. A loud squeal was produced by the creature as he landed on his back, crushing it underneath him. "Ah!" Mancini cried out in pain as he rolled over, glancing at the creature as it flailed about on the ground. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw another creature, this one tan in color, race towards him.

He had no time to run as another pink creature raced towards him as well, leaping at the tan one and knocking it aside before leaping onto Mancini, who struggled to get it off of his chest as the tan one returned and ran up his side. A third creature, this one also pink with yellow stripes and dots, ran towards him as the other two creatures tried to knock each other aside, and it quickly became the victor as it reached the finish line first.

Only a handful more of the facehuggers, tan and pink alike, raced out of the tunnel and into the cave, eventually making their way into the wilderness, catching anything large enough to be prey. Predator and prey alike would soon find themselves under assault from these parasites, and none of their natural defenses would be able to account for something they had never evolved alongside. The epidemic had begun, and no one, save a single synthetic, was in any position to do anything about it.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was the first chapter of ALIENS: EPIDEMIC. As you may have noticed, the pink facehuggers from HARD HEADS have returned, along with the cool refreshing taste of Facehugger Classic.

Anyway, the next chapter will feature a montage of a time skip that covers 3 to 4 weeks between the initial contact made by the Ladd Expedition in the Engineer research facility, and the eventual widespread outbreak that our military heroes will have to deal with.

Now, a few details to get out of the way. First off, while the Ladd Expedition is indeed funded by Weyland-Yutani, it was purely for the sake of finding valuable elements and minerals deep within the mountain range. In my view, by this point in time, Weyland-Yutani, or anyone remotely involved with Burke, has realized the futility of trying to acquire the Xenomorph. This story takes place 4 years after the events of ALIENS and ALIEN 3, assuming the _events_ of those films both occurred in the same year. By this point, Weyland-Yutani has lost the Nostromo, a recently-acquired Sevastopol Station (which couldn't have been cheap), an atmosphere processor _and_ the colony next to it, and two squads worth of Marines on the Sulaco, which is going to raise all sorts of legal questions when their families inquire into their whereabouts.

Second, the Taros strain of Xenomorph will be referred to by me as the XX121 T-37 Strain, since the events of HARD HEADS occurred in 2137 on the moon of Taros. Thus T-37. I will refer to the Classic Xenomorph strain as the XX121 A-22 Strain, since the Nostromo first encountered this strain on Acheron (LV-426) in 2122, although the strain could have technically been encountered earlier by someone else, since Weyland-Yutani _had_ to have known about its existence prior to the Nostromo's voyage in order to place Ash on the Nostromo and give him his special orders in the first place.

Third, there will be runners for both strains, and since they've been alive for a few weeks, they'll have ridged heads like the adults from the second film. Domed heads are found on adolescents, and the ridged heads are fully matured adults. James Cameron even confirmed this in his audio commentary for the 2003 DVD release of ALIENS.

Fourth, I will focus on the Colonial Army, which is a rarely seen, if even _mentioned_ , military force in the ALIEN universe. This means I can call the soldiers 'soldiers', finally. Let's get some terminology out of the way. Marines are in the Marine Corps. Soldiers are in the Army. A Marine is _not_ a soldier. A Marine is a Marine. Go ask any real-life military personnel about this, and they'll tell you so. When the Colonial Marines do show up in this story, they will be referred to as Marines.

Now, as for my posting schedule. I plan on a post every two weeks. I don't know if I'll go with my previously established one chapter per story every other week, or if it'll be two chapters, one for each story, every two weeks. It might be a mix of those schedules depending on how busy I get with work or other personal issues that arise.

So, with that being said, I hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter. Please be sure to let me know what you think of it in your reviews.


	2. DISTURBANCES IN DIAMOND VALLEY

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

Disclaimer: Darkest Side Of The Night, by Metropolis, is property of Paramount and New Line Cinemas.

Disclaimer: Shocker, by Dudes Of Wrath, is property of Universal Pictures, MCA, and Capitol Records.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 02: DISTURBANCES IN DIAMOND VALLEY  
**

* * *

 **DATE: SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2183**

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY, COLONY OF BLUE GEMINI**

Looking around at the numerous tables that had been rearranged in the mess hall, recently-promoted Corporal Sasha Harrison smiled at her handiwork. All of the plates, napkins, and eating utensils on the table in front of her were laid out and arranged in proper fashion for the party. Harrison glanced up at the digital clock on the wall, noting that it was already 12:45. They had only fifteen minutes until the going away party officially began.

Glancing over at another table, she saw Specialist Donovan Quail finishing his task of laying out the dining utensils at each seat. Across from him at another table, Private First Class Tom Gross was finishing up laying out several plates and napkins. At the last table behind _him_ , Private Ethan Fernandez was already finished with his assigned table.

In the next column of tables next to theirs, Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg, Specialist Calvin Gorch, Private First Class M. Warner, and Private Sid Jenkins were all close to finishing their assignments of laying out dinnerware and cloths. In the column next to that one, Specialist Jose Rosario, privates Robert "Bobby" Stewart, Kyle Anderson, and Diedre Miller had already finished their tasks and were engaged in arm-wrestling each other. Finishing up his task, Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg noticed the tomfoolery. "Privates! Save that for later," Kellogg said tersely.

The team immediately ceased their frivolity and became silent. "Sir, we still have fifteen minutes until-um, fourteen minutes, actually, until the party starts," Harrison stated. Kellogg looked at her before glancing at the digital clock on the wall. "So noted, Corporal," Kellogg said in acknowledgement. Wolf Squad had completed their tasks and were on schedule.

Looking around at the mess hall, however, Kellogg noticed that something still seemed to be out of place. There were plenty of chairs, plates, napkins, and dining ware lining the tables, and the tables were all arranged in proper order for the occasion. So what was missing?

It was then that Kellogg noticed the speakers in the corners of the walls, along with the security cameras. "Do we have music for this event?" Kellogg asked rhetorically. Harrison looked around at a lone media player laying on a table in the corner. It was a large device, with multiple CD trays and small LED screens on it, with two sets of modular speakers attached to it on the left and right sides. In the back were more ports for cables to connect to other devices.

"I think Lieutenant Dent is in charge of that, Sarge," Quail said. "Dent? Riiiiight," Kellogg responded with a hint of dismay and annoyance in his voice. _That sloth will probably wait until the last minute to even_ _ **look**_ _for music to play_ , Kellogg thought to himself.

A minute later, 2nd Lieutenant Mathew Dent entered the mess hall with a large binder tucked under his left armpit. "At ease, guys," Dent said as Wolf Squad made to salute him. Dent walked over to the table where the media player resided and set down the binder, opening it by pulling on a zipper. Flipping the front cover of the binder open, Dent began looking at the various music CD's that were stored in pockets within the binder.

"Oh, what to choose? What to choose?" he mused under his breath. "Hmm... yes. Folk and Goldsmith," he said as he saw a mix-CD containing the scores of various military and police movies. He began humming the main theme of the 1984 motion picture _Police Academy_ as he gently retrieved the CD from its pocket and opened the tray on the media player to deposit it.

"Which one of us... _dirtbags_ is gonna start the music when Captain Stevens arrives?" Dent asked as he turned around to face Wolf Squad with a smile. "Any takers?" he asked as he glanced around at the soldiers in the room. He saw Rosario begin to raise his right hand. "Specialist Rosario! Thank you for volunteering," Dent said as he motioned for the soldier to walk up to the table.

Rosario had to resist the temptation to roll his eyes at Dent. Slacker or not, Dent was still his superior _and_ one of the highest ranking officers on the base. "Okay, Rosario, when Captain Stevens enters the room, just press the button to retract the disc tray and the music will play automatically," Dent said.

 _I know how a fucking music player works_ , Rosario thought spitefully, wishing that he could curse out Dent. What he _said_ , however, was a tonally neutral "Yes sir," with a curt nod of his head. Dent nodded his own head in approval.

Soon, the smell of food caught everyone's attention as Python Squad strolled into the mess hall, pushing several carts with trays of food through the doors. While there were automated food and drink dispensers lining the walls of the mess hall, the base also had a kitchen where the on-base staff, usually Python Squad, could prepare meals on their own with supplies found in the connecting pantries. Eyeing the covered dishes on the trays, Wolf Squad waited for Python Squad to move each cart into position as they unloaded the trays and food onto a series of tables that had been lined up and laid bare for a buffet-style gathering.

Soon, the other squads began to arrive, each soldier filing into the room before taking standing positions around their respective squad's designated tables. Following the squads were the rest of the base's staff, including the dropship pilots and the highest ranking officers. When Captain Stevens finally stepped into the room, Specialist Rosario performed his task, and the music began to fill the air.

Captain Stevens smiled at the sound of the Patton march playing over the speakers in the room, glancing over the faces of all the men and women he would be saying goodbye to very soon. "Well, I'm... pleased to have such a warm goodbye," Stevens said as Rosario turned down the volume of the music. "Of course, this music was for a _general_ , not a captain," he said as he glanced over at Dent.

Dent glanced away with a shrug, one that only Stevens would allow him to get away with. "That being said, I... I really do appreciate the gesture," Stevens said warmly. Standing over to the side, Captain Burt Rosenthal and 1st Lieutenant Kimberly Hargrove silently nodded their heads in relief. Taking a whiff of the air, Stevens licked his lips. "Well, I guess we'd better get the formalities out of the way soon. I know that once we start getting our food, no one's gonna care to talk or listen," Stevens said with a chuckle, one that many of the other soldiers in the room reciprocated.

With an intake of breath, Stevens wiped his eyes to remove the tears that were welling up as he realized that this would be the last time that he ever dined with these people again. "So, as I'm sure you're all aware, I'm going to miss you, all of you. Okay, the hard part's over, let's eat," he soon said with a grin.

* * *

 **THE ROSSFIELD MOUNTAIN RANGE...**

Crouched in a waiting position, a large cougar watched as a young deer buck cautiously approached a stream to refresh itself. The feline predator watched as its prey drank the water, its throat moving with each bout of liquid that ran through it. The cougar remained silent and still as it noticed the twitch of the buck's ears every few seconds.

As the cougar prepared to make its attack, there was a slight breeze that gently blew through the air, and the cougar halted as the deer became alert. The buck raised its head and glanced around for signs of danger, while the cougar soon caught a strange scent entering its nostrils. It was not one that the feline was familiar with, nor was the deer that caught it.

A sound of something skittering through the underbrush caused the buck to quickly spring away over the stream, turning around as it held its head defensively, pointing its antlers outward at potential danger. The noise was heard yet again as something moved through the underbrush of the forest, causing both predator and prey to become synchronized in their confusion and fear. While the deer was naturally wary of predators, the cougar was unfamiliar with the sensation of being the hunted, and so it was with great alarm and confusion that it soon discovered the source of the strange scent and skittering noise.

As the deer buck finally noticed the cougar that had been spying on it, another sign of movement caught the animal's attention near the rock that the cat had been hiding behind. With lightning speed, a small tan-colored creature exploded out of the underbrush and launched itself through the air, latching its underside and limbs around the face of the big cat. The cougar let out a cry of shock as the facehugger wrapped its tail around its throat and forced a long tube down its esophagus.

Eyes wide in shock, the cougar desperately rolled onto its side and reached up with its paws to try to remove the parasite. When it sliced open one of the creature's legs, a burning pain shot through its front paw as the creature's blood began to eat away through its fur, flesh, and bone, causing the feline to let loose with a muffled roar of agony until the facehugger's paralyzing agent finally subdued the large animal. In a matter of mere minutes, the struggle was over.

The young buck had already leapt away as soon as the facehugger had attacked the cougar, quickly running away through the mountain forest and heading for safer ground.

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, MAY 12, 2183**

 **CITY OF DIAMOND BAY, COLONY OF BLUE GEMINI**

" _Alright, this is your host, Ravin' Ronny Rocker of DB Radio Five-Eighty! Right now, we're playing some old hits from the twentieth century. But first up we'd like to take a minute to once again relay a message from the Diamond Bay Police Department regarding the recent disappearances of twenty-six year-old Carl Merchant, last seen on his way to work near the port area; Nineteen year old Angelica Stevens, last seen walking to the Diamond Valley Community College on Wheat Field Drive; and forty-six year-old Anthony Gutierrez, a construction worker last seen working the night shift out by the outskirts of the city. Remember, if you know anything at all about these persons' whereabouts, please call and inform the local police. Thank you. Now, time for our morning rock to wake you up, and up first is a long-forgotten gem. Here it goes!_ "

Shuffling through the streets, sidewalks, and walkway tubes that connected various buildings to one another, the residents of Diamond Bay went about their daily lives in the early hours of the morning as dawn broke. Office workers entered Mag-Lev train cars and departed at their destinations. Truck drivers parked outside of warehouse entrances with their deliveries. School buses shuttled children to various educational facilities.

" _Fallen angels take to the street. It's an empty dance, and so incomplete._ "

All throughout the city, life went on, the normal routines and habits of the colonists uninterrupted by small, seemingly inconsequential incidents like small animals disappearing or a neighbor not returning home on time.

" _Their hollow voices whisper the cry. Falling down the line, there's a reason why._ "

A woman in a jogging outfit made her way past a flyer for a missing dog, the music playing in her earbuds and the sight of the sidewalk in front of her drawing her complete focus.

" _You've tried before, but you can't find a cluuue! No matter what you do~o._ "

Children sitting in a school bus laughed and yelled at each other, occupied in their own little worlds as they were taken to school by a bus operated by a synthetic who would never take his eyes off of the road longer than necessary.

" _The darkest side of the night, burns like a fire for the wasted lives!_ "

Men and women walked through the corridors of office buildings, some of them heading to their cubicles, while others rendezvoused with a significant other in a secluded location.

" _And there's no way you can fight! Just show some respect, and try to survive! On the darkest siiide!_ "

A patrol car moved quietly along its route, the officers inside completely unaware of the small pink and yellow animals moving through the sewer system beneath them.

" _Neon shadows that point the way, never lead you out. It's a game they play._ "

Pink facehuggers with yellow highlights moved swiftly along the walls and walkways of the sewer system, skittering past directional signs posted along the walls of the walkways, with their tan counterparts moving with equal fervor as they searched for prey to continue building their populations.

 **DATE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2183**

" _The madness comes and the madness goes. It's a simple world, and it's all they know!_ "

Several patrons sitting down at a bar began laughing when a fellow patron started telling a bad joke, while a TV up in the corner displayed a news bulletin on a growing number of missing persons throughout the city and surrounding areas.

" _You've tried to fix it, but there's nothing you can do! You just gotta see it through._ "

Inside a police station, several officers sat down and looked at a large screen connected to a computer showing a list of missing persons and other noteworthy incidents that had been reported occurring throughout the city and its outskirts, with several red dots and circles on a map showing the last known locations of the missing individuals.

" _The darkest side of the night, burns like a fire for the wasted lives!_ "

Men and women at the dock of a warehouse used power loaders and forklifts to move crates and pallets of inventory around the back room of a store.

" _And there's no way you can fight! Just show some respect, and try to surviiive! On the darkest siiide!_ "

Nurses working at a hospital took appropriate notes on the conditions of their patients.

" _In this city, you give, and they taaake!_ "

Men and women walked around and pushed carts in front of them while shopping in various grocery stores throughout the city, going about the same routines that they always did, with little variation in their weekly schedules.

" _You reach the limit! You bend, and then you break!_ "

A woman driving her car to work from out in the suburban island parts of the city's outskirts stopped her car suddenly after seeing something large and grey speed across the road and disappear from sight.

" _And there's no escaaape! There's NO esca~ape! No!_ "

Waking up while stuck to a wall in the sewer system, a young man looked around in confusion and fear as he saw the bodies of several other men, women, children and pets cocooned around him, before he felt an intense pain in his chest and began to convulse.

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, MAY 26, 2183**

 **DIAMOND VALLEY, FARMERS ROUTE...**

Looking out the window of the jeep she was driving, Sasha Harrison noted with a smile that a delivery truck was just leaving the Wilhelm Farm. It was very early morning, and the sun was still rising, casting a calming glow on the land around them. Sitting in the seat beside her, Donovan Quail quietly hummed along with the music that was playing over the jeep's radio system, courtesy of a CD that Sasha had inserted earlier. Sasha had a rather large collection of old rock albums stashed away in her personal inventory.

Sasha was also singing along with the music as well, rather horribly in Quail's opinion.

" _See the shadow of a stranger. You turn around and your life's in danger! This crazy world's in a grave situation!_ "

Quail turned his head to look at Sasha as she drove the jeep, glancing up and down at her form in standard fatigues. The music continued to play as he looked up at her face, before he glanced away when he thought she was looking out of her peripheral vision. "Something wrong?" she asked him curiously.

" _Shocker! Shocker! We're led like lambs to the slaughter! Shocker! Shocker!_ "

 _That terrible sound coming out of your mouth when you try to sing_ , Quail thought silently to himself. "No. Nothing's wrong," he responded instead with a brief shake of his head as Sasha turned the wheel and slowed the jeep before making a steady turn onto the long and wide dirt driveway that led to the main parking area for non-business visitors of the Wilhelm Farm. "Is there a reason that you've been studying me this whole time?" she asked asked him with a smirk. Quail glanced away in slight embarrassment in having been caught.

" _Shocker! Shocker! We're in the fire and it's just getting hotter! Shocker! Shocker!_ "

"Uh... eh," Quail replied sheepishly. Sasha pursed her lips and lightly shook her head. "Quail... what is it?," Sasha asked him firmly. "I think the music plays better without your- _our_ voices accompanying it," Quail said curtly in response. The two were silent for another minute as the music played.

Sasha soon sighed. "Specialist Quail... are you questioning my ability to sing?" she asked him with a slightly dangerous tone to her voice, lowering her eyelids as she glared at him through her peripheral vision. Quail widened his eyes in response as he realized that she had used his rank while alone with him, something she rarely did without reason, as the two soldiers had both progressed through their training and military career at roughly the same speed.

"Sash-I mean, Harrison", Quail said. "You can call me Sasha while we're alone, since we've known each other for so long, but try to be careful back at the base," Sasha interrupted him. Quail nodded his head in understanding. "Right. Um, Listen, Sasha, I'm not _questioning_ your ' _ability_ ' to sing," Quail said, subtly making quotation marks with his fingers out of view, causing Sasha to smile.

" _We will have the power! We will have the glory! In our shining hour, we will write, our own story!_ "

"I'm just telling you outright that you suck at it," he finished. Sasha's smile became less genuine as she inhaled and slowly nodded her head. "I see," she said through gritted teeth. Sasha then hit the brakes suddenly, giving Quail a minor case of whiplash. "Ow! Dammit, Sasha! What the hell!?" he asked her with a hiss.

"Oh, sorry about that. I wanted to look at the ostriches," Sasha lied as she glanced out her window to look at the large birds that were milling around in the fenced-in fields around the farm. Quail didn't believe her for a second, but he had the presence of mind to keep his mouth shut as Sasha took her foot off the brake and gently pressed down on the gas pedal again to continue driving towards their destination.

As the jeep eventually slowed down and came to a halt in front of the small store connected to the main farm building, Sasha kept the music playing for a for moments longer, before finally turning off the music player and radio. She then turned off the jeep's engine and opened the door. As she moved to get out, she felt her seat-belt pulling back on her, having forgotten to unbuckle it.

"Ha!" Quail snickered at her. Sasha gave him a playful glare before unbuckling the seat-belt and getting out of the jeep. Leaving the door open, she saw that Terrence Wilhelm was already waiting outside the front door of his small farm store. He was wearing his usual attire of blue jeans with a green button-up shirt and a straw hat on his head. His arms were crossed and his sleeves were rolled up, as usual.

"Harrison! You brought me some free labor, I see!" Wilhelm joked as he approached the jeep and stuck out his arm. Sasha grabbed his hand and shook it gently before letting go, shaking her head in amusement. "No, not today," Sasha said.

"Next time then?" Wilhelm asked her jokingly. "Eh, maybe," Sasha replied with a shrug. Sasha briefly glanced away from Wilhelm when she heard the other door to the jeep open and Quail got out.

"So, what's your assignment this time?" Wilhelm asked Sasha. "Just some packs of jerky and burgers," Sasha replied. "Uh-huh. Packs. Now, uh, would that be the large boxes of packs, or the small ones found in stores?" Wilhelm asked her with a glint in his eyes.

"We're taking these back to the base for everyone," Sasha said. "So, the large crates. I have about five of these waiting for you in the back of the store. You might want a cart to push them out here," Wilhelm said. "Oh don't worry. That's what I brought Specialist Quail out here for," Sasha said with a smile.

Quail looked at Sasha questioningly. "Wait, what?" he asked her in confusion. "You heard me," Sasha said with a smirk.

Looking at the insignia on Sasha's uniform, Wilhelm grinned. "So, Harrison, I see you've gotten a promotion. You a sergeant now?" he asked her as he saw the chevrons. "Huh? Oh, I'm not a sergeant. I'm a _corporal_ now," Sasha corrected him.

Wilhelm raised an eyebrow at her words, not being extremely familiar with military ranking systems or the various differences between branches. He knew a few of the basic ranks and how they were structured, such as Private, Corporal, Sergeant, and Lieutenant, and he knew that Specialist was found only in the Army, but that was about the extent of his knowledge and familiarity. "Oh, corporal, eh? So, is that still a higher pay grade than that specialist rank you were before?" he asked her curiously, having been informed by Sasha during previous visits.

"Actually, it's the same pay grade as Specialist. I just have leadership responsibilities now," she explained. _Like you weren't already giving orders to the rest of the squad whenever Kellogg had his back turned_ , Quail thought to himself with a snort, causing Sasha and Wilhelm both to look at him. "What?" he asked them.

Wilhelm shook his head before turning to face Sasha again. "Alright, now will my payment for this be like last time?" Wilhelm asked Sasha. The corporal nodded her head. "Just like last time," she said. "Well then, let's go inside and get that over with. Then I can give you the food," Wilhelm said before leading both soldiers inside his store.

Looking around at the inside of the store, Quail and Harrison saw various shelves and refrigerators lined and filled with supplies, respectively. Inside a freezer, Quail saw several packages of ostrich legs, wings, and breasts, all cut, raw, and prepared for home-cooking. There were also several packages of chicken meat as well, but those were fewer in number.

Inside a fridge, Quail noticed several large cartons of ostrich eggs, along with chicken eggs, in addition to hard-boiled chicken eggs and cartons of egg yolk and egg white mixes. All of them had the Wilhelm Farm logo printed on their sides and tops. "Huh, chickens, ostriches... but no turkeys?" Quail asked.

"Used to," Wilhelm replied as he walked behind a counter with two cash registers. "But... keeping them wasn't cost-effective, so we sold all of our stock to the Denham Poultry Farm out on the other side of the mountains," he added. Quail nodded his head in understanding.

"What about the Meyer Poultry Farm up north?" Quail asked Wilhelm. Wilhelm glared at Quail for a minute. "I wouldn't touch one of those bastards with a nine and a half-foot pole. Those guys are about one violation away from getting shut down completely," Wilhelm said in distaste.

"Uh, so, what varieties do we have for this month's delivery?" Sasha asked, changing the subject of the discussion. "Well, we've got teriyaki, lemon pepper, barbecue, honey barbecue, pineapple barbecue, pineapple, Hawaiian style, plain, herb roasted, and Caribbean style," Wilhelm answered. Quail raised an eyebrow at the number of different jerky flavors. "Huh," Quail said, "that's a lot of flavors."

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY**

Reclining back in his chair, 2nd Lieutenant Mathew Dent furrowed his brows as 1st Lieutenant Kimberly Hargrove failed to respond on her quarters' personal comm system. "She can't still be asleep, can she?" he asked himself as he looked at the calendar. "No. Not on a Monday," he whispered to himself in confusion, until he remembered a certain betting pool regarding Hargrove and another officer.

Smirking, he reluctantly rose out of his chair and sluggishly walked over to the door before using his comm system to call for Michael Rook, the station's primary synthetic, physician, and technical officer. " _Yes?_ " Rook asked over the com. "Hey, uh, Rook, can you go to Captain Rosenthal's quarters and see if he's awake yet? It's past Reveille," Dent said, referring to the standard music that was played in the morning at roll call.

" _Has something happened?_ " Rook asked him curiously. "Well, I haven't seen him yet this morning. He's usually up before anyone else," Dent said, remembering the numerous occasions when Rosenthal would rudely wake him up at least an hour before the scheduled rise and shine. Rosenthal had been slacking on that lately, and while Dent had appreciated it at first, he was now starting to grow suspicious.

" _I understand, Lieutenant. I'll check on him right away. Rook out_ ," Rook said. Dent glanced over at the window in his office, staring out at the rising sun as it slowly illuminated the green forests covering the Rossfield Mountains and the valley below. "Why can't my quarters be located on the same side as my office?" Dent asked himself bitterly.

A few minutes later, he heard the comm beep. Walking back over, he held down the button for speaking. "What's up?" Dent asked into the device. " _Lieutenant Dent, I have located Captain Rosenthal, along with First Lieutenant Hargrove,_ " Rook said. Dent's eyes widened mischievously. "Really? Where did you find each of them?" Dent asked him. " _Actually, they are both in Captain Rosenthal's quarters_ ," Rook replied in his usual tone of voice.

A wicked smirk spread across Dent's face. "Rook, please locate Staff Sergeant Williams and inform him that I won bet number B-three-one-nine. He'll know what you mean," Dent said into the comm. " _Uh... should I wake the captain and the lieutenant first?_ " Rook asked him, causing Dent to widen his eyes even further.

"No. I'll take care of that myself," Dent replied. " _Understood. Rook out_ ," Rook said over the comm. Dent let go of the button and looked around his office, searching for the trumpet that he kept hidden under a secret floor panel. "Payback's a bitch, Burt," Dent whispered to himself wickedly. He paused for a brief moment as a sense of professionalism overtook him and he scolded himself for what he was planning to do.

A minute later, through sheer determination and perseverance, he was able to overcome that sense of professionalism before quickly resuming his task. As he was about to reach for the door controls, he paused again. _No. Walking there on my own would be too much work_ , Dent thought to himself. He then used the comm system to call Rook again. "Hey, Rook? Have you reported to Williams yet?" Dent asked.

" _Yes, Lieutenant. He seemed quite upset over having lost whatever bet the two of you had made,_ " Rook replied. "Uh-huh. Anyway, I need you to report to my office. I have a _special_ assignment for you," Dent said with a shit-eating grin, not that Rook could see it.

" _I understand, Lieutenant. I'll be there as soon as possible_ ," the synthetic replied over his personal comm system. Rook was nearly always wearing a headset with a special channel on it that allowed him to communicate with anyone from anywhere in or around the base.

Several minutes later, the door to Dent's office slid open and Rook stepped inside. "Okay, Rook? I need you to take this trumpet over to Captain Rosenthal's quarters," Dent said as he held the trumpet out to the synthetic.

"Does it belong to Staff Sergeant Williams?" Rook asked him, wondering if there had been more to Dent and Williams's bet than had been let on. Dent shook his head in response. "No, it's mine, but I want you to play Reveille on it. [Beat] In Captain Rosenthal's quarters," Dent explained. Rook stared at him with widened eyes and a slacked jaw, a clear display of surprise if there ever was one, especially for a synthetic.

"Lieutenant, I don't mean to question a superior officer's decisions, but this doesn't seem to be a very... _responsible_ decision for someone in your position," Rook said in subtle protest. "I know. That's why I'm having _you_ do it for me," Dent said in response, grinning from ear to ear.

A look of dismay overcame Rook's face. "Oh," he said softly. "Rook, when you observed both Captain Rosenthal and Lieutenant Hargrove in the same room, where exactly were they located? What were their respective states of dress?" Dent asked the synthetic, causing Rook to blink in confusion at the rapid change in subject.

"They were both on the same bed, under the same sheets. I recall seeing various undergarments resting on the floor, although their uniforms were neatly folded and sitting on a desk nearby," Rook explained. Dent nodded his head.

"So... this is likely a violation of our fraternization rules," Dent noted. Rook furrowed his brows in thought. "I... believe it is likely, based on the available evidence and observations," Rook said in hesitant agreement. Dent nodded his head gently. "So, think of this as an unusual form of disciplinary action for their violation of the rules," Dent said to the synthetic, hiding the fact that this was in fact a petty form of revenge for Rosenthal's past actions.

"I... _suppose_ that I could classify this action in that manner," Rook said hesitantly. "Look, I'm the third-highest ranking officer on base, and so if the two people above me are violating the rules, then clearly I have to be the one to make decisions regarding that," Dent said as an excuse, although he was technically correct by the narrowest of margins and the vaguest of wordings.

"Very well," Rook said reluctantly. "I will perform this unorthodox deed," he added as he accepted the trumpet from Dent and left the room. Dent sighed as the door slid to a close after Rook had exited his office. _Now to wait for sweet, sweet justice to be served_ , Dent thought to himself with a smile.

* * *

When Rook entered Captain Rosenthal's quarters, he saw that both Rosenthal and Hargrove were still sleeping in Rosenthal's bunk, with the covers still wrapped around both of them like an olive-green cocoon. Both dreamers were breathing steadily through their nostrils, with Rosenthal's arms wrapped around Hargrove's waist under the covers, with her back facing him as she gently and probably unconsciously sucked on the thumb of her left hand, which was otherwise balled into a fist. Rook silently shook his head in disappointment at himself, both for what he was about to do, and for that fact that he easily could have pointed out the flaws in Lieutenant Dent's reasoning. But, he had already gone this far.

Looking around the room, Rook wondered if perhaps he could avoid Dent's orders by simply waiting for the couple to wake up. But that would put him in a somewhat awkward position where he would still have to explain his presence to the two of them. _What's that saying? I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't? I think that's the one_ , Rook thought to himself as he quickly searched his data banks for the data regarding the phrase.

Slowly inhaling, Rook brought the mouthpiece of the trumpet up to his lips. _I wonder if I should have my ethics subroutines upgraded?_ That was the last thought that went through Rook's artificial head before he began playing Reveille.

* * *

" _The sergeant's worse than the corporals, the lieutenant's worse than the sergeants, and the captain's worst of all!_ " Dent quietly sang to himself with a grin as he heard the trumpet playing over the comm system, along with the sounds of Rosenthal and Hargrove shouting profanities.

Truly, against all odds, 2nd Lieutenant Mathew Dent had finally overcome his debilitating sense of professionalism.

* * *

 **ONE HOUR LATER...**

The sun was now higher in the sky as Harrison and Quail returned from the trip to the farms, with Harrison slowing the vehicle to a stop as the automated ID scanners at the gate waited for her to retrieve her identification. Showing her dog tags and her ID card, along with Quail's, Harrison smiled as the red lights changed to green and the gate began to open. " **THANK YOU, CORPORAL HARRISON AND SPECIALIST QUAIL. YOU MAY PROCEED ONTO THE BASE** ," the machine said through a speaker system as the gate opened fully.

"You're welcome," Harrison said as she began driving forward again. Behind her, the gates started closing once more before locking automatically. Up ahead, the duo could see a raised flag in the air above the base, one that did not have much purpose elsewhere in the system, but was still an important part of the military's heritage and structure. "I guess we missed _Reveille_ and _To The Colors_ ," Harrison said to Quail as she drove them closer to the base's on-site supply compound.

"Are we gonna get in trouble for that?" Quail asked her in a rather unconcerned tone. "I shouldn't think so. After all, Lieutenant Dent gave me the okay to head out on the jerky run," Harrison replied. Quail raised an eyebrow at her response.

"Wait, he _gave you_... the _okay?_ I thought you said we were _under orders_ from him?" Quail asked her skeptically. Harrison kept her eyes focused on the road ahead and remained silent, ignoring Quail's questions. "Sash? Is there something I should know about this so-called ' _assignment_ ' of ours?" Quail asked her with increasing concern.

"Stop worrying about it," Harrison replied dismissively. "Just be sure to give a pack of jerky to Lieutenant Dent after we unpack. Make sure it's either plain or teriyaki, though," she added as she pulled the jeep up to an already-opened garage door where Specialist Jose Rosario was already standing by with Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg.

"Hey, Sarge," Harrison said as she parked the jeep. "Morning, Corporal. Morning, Quail," Kellogg said as he walked around to the back of the jeep and waited for Harrison to unlock the doors. Rosario soon walked forward towards the driver side door. "So, did you remember to get the barbecue jerky?" he asked Harrison.

"Yes, _Rosario_. I remembered to get the barbecue flavored jerky. Why don't you go help Sarge unpack? You'll get your hands on it a lot quicker," Harrison replied flippantly. Rosario quickly heeded her advice and began helping Sergeant Kellogg unload the crates of ostrich jerky from the back of the jeep.

* * *

 **DATE: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 04, 2183**

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY**

In the communications room of the base's administration section, Lieutenant Dent grumbled as he checked each of the communication channels as part of the monthly communications equipment test for the base. Looking at the checklist on the computer screen in front of him, and the one on the paper and clipboard in his hands, he slowly moved down each channel and frequency as he sent out test message after test message to the satellite relay station that would then bounce the signal to the satellites orbiting the planet so that he could communicate with the other bases on the continent, as well as the two ships in orbit around the planet.

So far, all channels and frequencies had been solid. There had been no communication problems yet, and given how little ever happened in Diamond Valley, it was quite likely that the test would be completed without any problems whatsoever. Because of this expectation, Dent was surprised when the next message he sent to the relay facility did not give have a confirmation message sent back.

Raising an eyebrow, Dent suspected that he may have slipped up by accident. He checked the open command line showing the destination for all of the previous messages and their confirmation notices before checking to see if the relay station was able to pick up the next frequency on the list. For accuracy, Dent quickly sent another message on the previous working frequency, expecting another confirmation notice to be sent automatically by the facility's automated mainframe computer system.

There was nothing. Dent tried two more of the previously successful test channels, only to find that those were no longer working either. "What the hell?" he asked under his breath. He went to another console and opened up a new communications test, using a different line that still went to the same facility. There was no response from the automated system for this one either.

Deciding to check on the base's own satellite system, Dent jumped ahead on the list to begin testing out the communications link between the base and the satellites in space directly.

There were no problems. Dent continued the tests with the direct method, finding nothing wrong with the base's own satellite dish and relay systems. The problem, therefore, was the satellite relay station located out near the mountains, where the pioneer settlement homes were located.

"Shit, I don't wanna drive all the way out there," Dent muttered to himself. _I gotta find someone else to do it. Aaaannnnd I'll have to notify Captain Rosenthal. Shit. He's still pissed off at me for Rook's little wake up concert. Wait, I've got it. I'll notify him_ _ **AFTER**_ _I've already sent someone else out there. But, who should I send?_

* * *

Inside staff room A-12 in the administration section of the base, Corporal John Muldoon of Eagle Squad was helping Rook and Warrant Officer George Jonas fix a broken printer. "Nope, I think this thing's just about had it," Muldoon grunted as he pulled out the warped piece of plastic that had once served as part of the machine's paper feeding mechanism. "Yeah, this baby's not worth the money," he added.

"Damn," Jonas cursed as he sat on the floor with his legs crossed. "Captain Rosenthal's gonna chew us out for this," Jonas muttered. In the time since Rosenthal had become the base's leader, he had tried to be as efficient as possible with the budget by having his officers and soldiers fix broken equipment as much as possible before finally buying new equipment, unless it was something that absolutely had to be immediately replaced for safety purposes.

"You know, we can always requisition a new printer," Muldoon said. Jonas looked at him with a frown. "Yeah, but Rosenthal is such a tight-ass when it comes to the budget. A real Scrooge," Jonas responded.

While the two men who busy complaining, the intercom came online. " _Attention, will Technical Officer Rook please use the comm system to contact Lieutenant Dent via the communication's center comm system? Thank you_ ," Dent said over the intercom.

Rook walked over to the comm system panel on the wall near the door and spoke into it after entering the code for the communications center. "This is Rook, Lieutenant. How can I be of assistance?" Rook asked into the panel.

" _Hey, Rook, I need you to do me a favor,_ " Dent said. Rook immediately frowned, remembering the last time Dent had asked him to do something for him. "Lieutenant, I'm sorry, but I have no desire to antagonize other base personnel on your behalf. Captain Rosenthal made it very clear to me that I am to ignore such orders from you or anyone else," Rook said. Muldoon and Jonas both glanced over at him and snickered as they remembered the fallout from the incident.

" _That's not the kind of favor that I'm asking for, Rook. I'm having a problem accessing the testing lines for satellite relay station DV-01-A. It's located out by the mountains,_ " Dent explained.

"Do you want me to help you with the communications test?" Rook asked him. " _Negative. I want you to head out to the relay station and see what the problem is. Our own systems work just fine; I just finished testing them. The problem is the relay station. We aren't the only ones who use that place. That radio/satellite facility is used by almost everyone in this valley, including emergency services_ ," Dent explained.

"Lieutenant, I am aware of the number of parties who use the relay station. My inquiry was merely about our own systems. I never doubted the importance of the relay station itself," Rook said. " _I understand, Rook, and I'm grateful. Now, I need you to take a jeep or a bike and head out there to physically check on the station. I've reset the lines to it, but it doesn't even register anymore on the system. It's like it's just disappeared or something. And yes, I am using the manuals given to me for this test, so I know what I'm talking about_ ," Dent said before Rook could say anything.

"Affirmative, Lieutenant. Should I take anyone else with me to investigate?" Rook asked Dent over the com. " _Uh... sure, if you think having an extra set of hands will help. Go right ahead. Take whoever you want_ ," Dent replied. "Thank you. Oh, Lieutenant, Warrant Officer Jonas and Corporal Muldoon have discovered that the main printer in Strategy Room A-Twelve is in need of replacement parts. I'll let them fill you in on the details," Rook said before hanging up.

Rook quickly opened the door. "Hey, where are you going?" Muldoon asked him. "I need to grab some equipment and head out to inspect the satellite relay station near the mountains. It seems to be experiencing technical difficulties," Rook explained before walking out the door.

Walking through the hallways of the base, which in and of itself was made by cannibalizing both a decommissioned colony ship _and_ a decommissioned military transport vessel, Rook made his way down to level C, which was the ground floor of the facility. One floor below was level D, which was connected to multiple bunkers and a secret emergency tunnel that led all the way out to another bunker located under a tool shed in a forest just a mile shy of the farm roads.

The emergency tunnel had no tracking devices lining it and only the minimum necessary safety equipment for its structural integrity. It didn't even have any lights installed. The tunnel was intended as a means of both escape and secret re-entry into the base in the hypothetical event that the base and its personnel were ever captured by an enemy unit. As such, it was known only to a select few members of the base's staff, such as Technical Officer Rook, Staff Sergeant Williams, Warrant Officer Jonas, Sergeant Kellogg, Captain Rosenthal, 1st Lieutenant Hargrove, and 2nd Lieutenant Dent.

Given that the tunnel itself was only used once per month during security checks, its existence was often forgotten about even by those who were aware of it, with the exceptions of Rook and Staff Sergeant Williams, who occasionally used the tunnel and its connecting bunker as an off-site storage location for various pieces of spare equipment while performing the monthly security check for the base.

Currently, Rook was searching for Williams throughout the base, and knowing that Williams was usually the person performing security checks, Rook decided to head for the storage room where the emergency tunnel was located in the hopes of finding him. His judgement soon proved itself to be well-founded as he quickly located the staff sergeant emerging from the closet that hid the tunnel entrance before he closed the door on it. "Oh, Rook? Do you need something?" Williams asked the synthetic.

"Yes, Sergeant. Lieutenant Dent has requested that I investigate a problem with satellite relay station DV-Zero-One-A. He says that it's experience some kind of malfunction and he can't complete his communications test until it's back online. I'm hoping that you can assist me in the endeavor," Rook explained.

"Sure, why not? I've pretty much finished my checklist for the day anyway. Just let me submit my report and I'll meet up with you by the vehicle depot," Williams said. Rook nodded his head before turning around and walking out of the storage room, leaving Williams behind to finish marking off the papers on his clipboard.

 **THE VEHICLE DEPOT, THIRTY MINUTES LATER...**

As Rook inspected inspected the tool box he would be taking with him, he heard the door slide open. "Are you ready?" Rook asked Williams, not even turning his head to see if it was indeed his chosen companion. He soon noticed, however, that there were more than just two sets of boots walking across the floor towards him.

Finally looking over at the door, Rook saw Staff Sergeant Williams being accompanied by Corporal Sasha Harrison, Specialist Donovan Quail, and Specialist Jose Rosario. "Sergeant Williams, I was unaware that we would need three more personnel to assist us," Rook said with some confusion in his voice. He noticed that Corporal Harrison and Specialist Quail were both carrying M39A submachine guns with attached laser sights and A4 stabilizing stocks. Specialist Rosario was only carrying his pistol, holstered on his thigh as he carried a large tool box over to the jeep.

"Sergeant Williams, if I may ask, why are Quail and Harrison both carrying firearms? This should be nothing more than a simple computer problem at the least, or perhaps a malfunctioning piece of hardware at the most," Rook stated. A simple malfunctioning transmitter was no reason for the usage of firearms in his own opinion, even if the firearms in question were low-powered SMGs such as the ones being carried by Harrison and Quail.

"I spoke with Lieutenant Dent, Rook. He mentioned that he's been hearing reports lately of people disappearing throughout the valley, and he wants us to check out some of the homesteads around the mountain area after we inspect the relay station. Better to be safe than sorry," Williams replied.

"Right," Rook said, nodding his head. He himself had heard bits and pieces of news coverage regarding colonists going missing a small number of times over the past few weeks, but he hadn't thought much of it. After all, that was the jurisdiction of the colony's municipal security force, or police as they were commonly known.

"Don't worry," Harrison said as she boarded the jeep, "I won't fire unless I'm shot at first."

To Rook, this simply made him even more concerned. "Look, how about you guys drop me off at the relay station and I'll take care of the inspection while you perform your search of the mountain homes," Rook suggested as he loaded his gear into the jeep before settling in along with the others. "Sure. Rosario will stay with you, though. An extra set of hands should help you out, right?" Harrison replied as she stuck some gum into her mouth and began chewing on it.

Rook nodded his head as Williams activated the remote door-opener near the top of the jeep. One of the depot's garage doors began to open, and Williams started up the engine before slowly backing the vehicle out onto the gravel outside. The jeep soon made a K-Turn and was off, exiting through the entrance gate after Williams and the others showed their ID's to the automated scanning system.

* * *

 **SATELLITE RELAY STATION DV-01-A, DIAMOND VALLEY, ROSSFIELD MOUNTAIN RANGE...**

After nearly forty minutes of driving, the team reached the entrance to the relay station. The station itself was located on a hill near the base of the mountains, with the main road forking off to lead up to the top of the hill, where a flat surface allowed for parking next to the main building. The building itself was guarded by a fence, but the fence was presently opened, and there was one vehicle parked near the front door of the building.

"That's odd," Williams said as he took in the sight. Driving the jeep through the opened gate, he brought the vehicle to a halt and parked it so that Rosario and Rook could get out with their gear. "I think someone's already here," Harrison said as she stepped out and inspected the poorly-parked pickup truck. There was drying mud on the side of the vehicle, with splatters all around indicating that the driver had been going rather fast.

The way that the vehicle was parked, along with the gate already being opened, caused Sasha Harrison to become alert. "Sergeant Williams, something doesn't seem right," Harrison said as she scanned the area for signs of trouble. Williams looked around nodded his head as he turned off the jeep's engine and got out of the vehicle.

Stepping over to the pickup truck's driver-side door, which was opened, Quail looked inside and saw that there were dried blood stains on the seat. Warning bells immediately began going off in his head as he checked the rest of the front cabin, seeing empty candy wrappers and an opened glove box. Reaching forward, Quail searched the glove compartment until he pulled out the vehicle's license and registration, along with a space ID card for the driver.

There was personal information on the driver on the back of the card, including his home address and main employer. Quail walked over to Williams and showed him the card. "There's some blood on the front seat. Nothing more than what a paper cut would make, but it's there. Whoever drove this truck here should still be around," Quail said. Williams nodded his head.

Williams then motioned for Quail and Harrison to take positions at the door of the building, carefully letting Rook approach the door. Rook looked up at the main satellite dish and immediately noticed that it was not aligned properly. Squinting his eyes, he activated his magnification settings for his optical sensors and scanned the parts that made up the dish. "That lock shouldn't be there," he said to himself curiously.

"Someone locked the dish manually," Rook said. "You can tell?" Rosario asked him. "Yeah. Look at how those metal bars are crossed over those coverings. If the dish weren't locked, those would be aligned differently. And the dish itself would be facing straight up. The secondary dish should be moving as well, but it's not. The whole thing has been locked down," Rook said, confused as to why anyone would lock the satellite dishes.

"Well, let's not waste more time out here. Rook, get inside with Rosario, but let Quail and Harrison take point," Williams ordered. Quail and Harrison both nodded their heads as Rook opened the door, seeing that the lights were off on inside the main hallway, although the light for the control room down at the every end was still turned on. As he stepped inside, he noticed how eerily quiet the building was. "Hello?" Rook called out.

There was no response. There was only silence and a slight echo of his voice. "Is anyone here? We've come to help fix the equipment," Rook called out again.

Once more, there was only silence.

"Hello?" Rook asked one last time as he stepped forward into the empty hallway of the relay station. Reaching around, Rook flipped on the light switch, illuminating the interior of the facility. Looking to his right, he saw the broken door to an office. Looking further up ahead to his left, there was a wooden door thrown onto the floor. Glancing down at the floor itself, Rook could see muddy boot-prints and skid marks, with one set of prints veering off to the right side office before re-entering the hallway. Both sets continued down towards the lit room at the end of the hall, however.

"What happened here?" Rook asked rhetorically as he carefully walked into the office, Quail and Harrison following closely behind him. Flipping on the light switch to the office, Rook saw a computer terminal that had a screen saver running, with an overturned chair on the floor in front of the desk the computer was resting on. He soon noticed small drops of blood on the floor, along with dirt and stones that had been trailed in by whoever had been in here.

Looking down on the floor and following the trail of drying blood drops that accompanied the muddy boot prints on the floor, Rook cautiously proceeded down the hallway. Glancing to his left again, he saw that the wooden door had been part of a broom closet. Moving up farther ahead, Rook saw another opened door to his right. It was the room where several pieces of equipment were kept.

Ignoring the closet, Rook continued moving forward until he reached the busted door to the main control room. The door had a very large hole in it, even though it was already opened, and there were also what appeared to be claw marks on the edge of the door as well. Carefully stepping to the side of the door, Rook made his way into the large control room, where dozens of computer terminals were located, along with various shelves holding bundles of cables and wires, diagnostic equipment, and even two vending machines with soda and snacks.

Following behind Rook, Rosario, Quail, Harrison, and Williams all looked around at the splinters of wood lying on the floor, the smashed desk lying on its side, the wheeled chairs that had been pushed over, and the empty revolver lying on the floor, with two clearly used shells discarded nearby, while the rest of the chamber had clearly been in the process of being filled when its use had been attacked, as there was a spilled box of rounds on the floor, along with small burn marks on the floor where something had melted into the thick wooden boards that covered a metal latticed framework. There was also a discarded flare gun sitting nearby, in addition to a bloodied and ripped up hat, in addition to a hard helmet that belonged to whoever was sent out to check on the place.

Further to the right of the group, there were aisles of servers that processed everything that the satellite dishes received and transmitted, and near one of those shelves was a bloodied wrench, which was also singed and even melted in a few spots. Williams silently motioned for Quail and Harrison to search the server aisles. The two soldiers nodded their heads and quietly proceeded, their SMGs kept pointed at the floor the entire time.

Cautiously, the duo swept the aisles of servers and data storage, searching for signs of human activity. When they could find no traces other than a few drying drops of blood on the floor, they returned to the main portion of the control room. "Room's clear," Harrison stated.

"No signs of anyone?" Williams asked her. "Nothing. Just some drying blood. Whoever was here is already gone, probably within the last hour or so. We just missed 'em," Harrison reported.

Williams turned to look at Rosario and Rook, both of whom were already at work looking at the logs on the computers. "Have you found anything?" Williams asked them. Rosario looked up at him and nodded his head.

"I think so. There's a garbled command line in here, and the computer shows the process that someone used to try to lock the dishes into a fixed position. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the dishes are pointed in the direction of our base, sir," Rosario said.

"What? Then why couldn't Dent finish his communication test?" Williams asked in bewilderment. "Because, locking the dishes into place didn't happen properly. Someone rushed the procedure and skipped several important steps for ensuring continued communications. Right now, just about everyone is cut off from this place," Rosario explained.

"Everyone?" Williams asked him.

"That is correct, Sergeant," Rook said as he kept focused on the screen in front of him. A command line displaying numerous logs was opened in front of him, and he was checking each one. "Dent's communication tests are in here, so we should have a pretty good idea of just when things went wrong," Rook said as he noted the time of each message reception. "Aaannnd... there we go. Thirteen hundred," Rook said.

"It's fifteen-ten right now," Harrison said.

"Yeah, Dent decided to finish the rest of the communication checklist before reporting this to anyone. If he'd said something sooner, we could have gotten here earlier," Rook said bitterly, or at least as bitterly as he was capable. Williams snorted in response.

" _Typical fucking Dent_ ," Rosario muttered under his breath.

"So, you said there was a garbled transmission earlier. Can you pull it up?" Williams asked as he and the others walked over to the consoles. "Sure," Rosario said as he pulled up the command box with the message.

"It starts off legible, but then... it's as if the user just started hitting every key at once," Rosario explained as he pointed to the message.

"PLEASE SEND HEL[PL;'UIODFHODBNSFWNC178=D OFDSAFAP%^*()$%&^01DFRT$%#%^GERTFSODF$TGOSERMSDFse4," the message read.

"What the _fuck_ does that even mean?" Quail asked in confusion.

"Please send help," Rook said. "The last legible word is 'help' even if part of it becomes a long string of nonsense, it's still part of the message. Please send help," Rook reiterated.

"Help for who? And for what? Why?" Williams asked. "Unknown. _But_ , we do have a user input key for the manual dish alignment procedure. It doesn't give us a name, but it had to be someone who worked here," Rosario spoke up.

"So, someone was trying to call us? Hell, if they'd just left the dishes alone they wouldn't have had any problems doing that," Harrison pointed out. "They may not have known that," Rook said. "From what we've seen so far, someone was injured as they entered this building. Don't forget about the gun on the floor either. Whoever tried to contact us must have been terrified of someone or something that followed them in here," Rook explained.

"With the way those doors were broken... maybe a rogue synthetic?" Quail suggested. "No, there's no evidence of that. Have you seen any white stains on the floors or the walls?" Harrison said while shaking her head, referencing the common white blood found in synthetics.

"Oh, right. So... maybe it was some kind of animal? A cougar, maybe?" Quail then suggested. "The claw marks we've seen on the doors and parts of the walls may lend some credence to that suggestion," Rook said without turning his head away from the screen in front of him.

"Okay, but what about that half-melted wrench?" Quail asked curiously. "Who knows? Maybe it got melted in an unrelated incident," Williams suggested.

"Sergeant, maybe we should head out and start searching the mountainside now. Rook and Rosario can handle anything that comes their way, but if someone was kidnapped or killed, we should leave now in order to track them down and check out the mountain area. We should also try contacting the City Police and have them inspect this place. It could easily be considered a crime scene," Harrison said.

"Alright, we'll do that. Rook, Rosario, stay here and get those dishes re-aligned. Keep in touch through your headsets and portable radios," Williams said as he pointed to the bag of equipment that was strapped to Rosario's back. Rosario nodded his head. "Will do, sir," Rosario replied curtly.

Williams, Harrison, and Quail soon made their way out of the relay station. Walking past the pickup truck, Harrison soon noticed something on the ground. Crouching down, she took a closer look at the object. It was a broken pair of glasses. She hadn't noticed them earlier, but now that she had, she quickly removed a small plastic baggy from her uniform and prepared to grab them, until she realized that she could be contaminating evidence for the police by moving them. Granted, she and the others had already walked into a potential crime scene, but that was before they realized what they had gotten themselves into.

Returning to the others, Harrison quickly got in the jeep and closed the door, buckling herself in as Williams restarted the engine and turned the vehicle around. Taking one last glance around the relay station, the trio soon departed and made their way down the winding dirt road and back onto the main one. Glancing out at the trees that lined the mountainside, Harrison blinked as she saw something move. One minute, there was a strange growth on the side of a tree, and seconds later, it was gone.

* * *

Author's Notes: And this was chapter two of ALIENS: EPIDEMIC. Yes, the epidemic has begun, and the aliens are slowly building their numbers. There won't be any big battles just yet. You'll have to wait a couple more chapters as I build things up. Yes, the T-37 xenomorphs and the classic LV-426 or A-22 xenomorphs will come into conflict with each other at some point, since they're both two different hives that will be using the same resources. Yes, there will be a queen for both strains of Xenomorph, and a few other surprises as well, especially for those of you who have read Alan Dean Foster's novelization of ALIENS (1986).

Also, yes, there will be pulse rifles in this story. By all that is holy, _THERE. WILL. BE. PULSE RIFLES!_

And there will be much rejoicing... From you... The readers.

As always, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.


	3. ESCALATING DISTURBANCES

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

Parts of this chapter were written while listening to the soundtracks for _Tremors_ (1990) by Ernest Troost and Robert Folk, _Halo: Reach_ (2010) by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, _The Fly II_ (1989) by Christopher Young, and _Prince Of Darkness_ (1987) by John Carpenter. These are all excellent music scores, and Reach and Tremors are the ones I listened to the most while writing this story in general, although I highly recommend listening to John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness score while reading this particular chapter, as it perfectly conveys a sense of dread and impending doom, one that I just cannot do justice with only typed words.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 03: ESCALATING DISTURBANCES  
**

* * *

 **DATE: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 04, 2183**

 **008 BLUE FLOWER DRIVE, ROSSFIELD MOUNTAIN RANGE, DIAMOND VALLEY**

Staff Sergeant Verl Williams brought the jeep to a slow stop before parking it in front of the driveway of a mountainside homestead. The house had a very round curved shape to it, with a dark wooden appearance, although it was actually made of non-wooden materials. A covered air-conditioning unit could be seen on a cement block next to a curved window, with a shadow cast on it by a large tree just a few feet away.

In front of the house was civilian jeep, indicating that someone was probably home.

Stepping out of the jeep, Specialist Donovan Quail and Corporal Sasha Harrison kept their SMGs pointed at the ground with the safeties turned on. Their fingers rested on the trigger guards of their weapons. As a light breeze passed through the air, Harrison looked around at the quiet homestead her nose catching a whiff of something mildly unpleasant.

Walking up to the front door of the curved building that seemed partially built into the side of the mountain, Williams gently pressed the doorbell. A pleasant and slightly muffled chime emanated throughout the interior of the home behind the door. Williams waited for a few minutes before pressing the doorbell again. Once again, there was no response. Glancing over at one of the windows, Williams saw that a light was on, so someone was definitely home.

As Williams continued pressing the door bell, Harrison slowly made her way around the front lawn of the home, looking at the portion of the building that stopped curving and became straight before curving again with a door hanging open. "Sarge," Harrison called out softly. Williams glanced over in her direction briefly before he noticed the opened door.

"Check it out, but _don't_ enter the house," Williams ordered Harrison. Harrison nodded her head in understanding of the orders and slowly crept over to the opened door. She was halfway through the yard when she felt something beneath her feet and heard a squeaking noise. Everyone's eyes were on her as she looked down and saw a green tinted rubber duck under her left boot.

Glancing back over at Williams and Quail, Harrison gave them a sheepish apologetic look before continuing forward towards the opened door. Glancing over to her right, Harrison saw that there were a set of keys lying on the ground. Her eyes widening in alarm, she cautiously crouched down near the keys to get a closer look.

There were stains of dried blood on the ground and the keys. "Sarge, we have blood on the ground," Harrison announced, catching Quail's and Williams' attention. "How much?" Williams asked her. "More than the relay station. This time, there are prints," Harrison said as she noticed the bloodied prints on the ground. They were somewhat reminiscent of a wolf or coyote's paw prints in their shapes and toe formation, however, they seemed a bit too big for a coyote. And there were no wolves on the Diamond Valley side of the mountain, nor were there any bears. Wolves and bears were only found on the western side of the mountain. Ecological research teams produced constant reports that suggested this.

However, there appeared to be two very distinct thumb-like shapes on the sides of the main paw area. Six digits, Harrison realized. Cougars and coyotes didn't have six digits. Neither did humans.

Standing up, Harrison glanced at the opened doorway of the home, glancing at Williams for permission to enter. Williams motioned for Quail to join her and silently motioned for them to move in, holding a finger up to his lips as a silent indicator for them to keep as quiet as possible. Both soldiers nodded their heads, with Quail moving around the edge of the lawn to avoid stepping on noise-producing toys, learning from Harrison's missteps.

When Quail had met up with Harrison, both soldiers again looked at Williams, who once more gave them the signal to move forward, silently. Both soldiers again nodded their heads and kept their weapons pointed at the ground with the safeties turned on as they quietly crept forward through the open doorway.

Stepping back just behind Harrison, Quail glanced at the other side of the door, seeing claw marks on it, similar to those found at the relay station. Quietly moving forward, he joined Harrison as she swept the homestead. The lights were all still on in the house, and there were pictures lining the walls.

The pictures were of the home's owners and their family. There was a picture of a red-haired man and a blonde woman holding a small baby in their arms together near the opened door to the bathroom. Peeking into said bathroom, Harrison saw no signs of movement. She resumed her trek through the hallway.

More pictures lined the walls, showing a young girl with a rain jacket that was too big for her and what appeared to be grandparents from both sides of the family gathered in front of the house with the main family. A few pictures and their frames were hanging lopsided or had fallen onto the floor, and there were dried blood stains on the floor and the walls, staining the carpet as Harrison and Quail moved forward, peeking into the open doorway of the bedroom on her right.

There was a small bed with a night-light, and there were plastic glow-in-the-dark stars posted along various spots on the walls and ceiling of the room. Creeping into the room, Harrison felt a tingling sense of dread growing inside of her as she saw some kind of slime trailing on the floor and a ripped-up cover hanging from the child-sized bed in the corner of the room. She craned her neck to glance back at the wooden door of the bedroom, seeing that it had claw marks on it and several splinters on the floor from where someone or something had rammed into it repeatedly.

Slowly backing out of the empty child's bedroom, Harrison met back up with Quail, who had held his position during her search. "Find anything?" he asked her quietly. "It's just like the relay station. Claw marks and torn surroundings," Harrison reported.

Quail slowly nodded his head in grim understanding. "Come on, let's check out the main living area," he said. Harrison nodded in response and took point in front of him as she turned off the safety on her SMG, but still kept her finger on the trigger guard as the weapon remained pointed at the ground.

Slowly entering the living room, the duo saw that a flat-screen TV was lying face down on the floor. A couch had been recently moved around, indicated by the indentations visible on the floor behind it, and there were picture frames hanging crookedly on the walls, with a lamp knocked onto the floor, and several broken glass and ceramic dishes covering the carpet in various spots. There were more blood stains on the walls, but there were still no physical signs of any people present in the home.

There was a curved staircase that led up to the second floor and in the space behind the stairs was the kitchen. Knives were scattered on the ground, and there were more blood stains and bloody hand prints covering various surfaces. A small kiddie table sat in the middle of the kitchen, and some plastic toy trucks and dinosaurs sat on the floor nearby.

As before, the blood they found was dried. Whatever had occurred in this home had happened at least a day prior to their arrival. Walking into the kitchen, Harrison saw that some of the knives on the ground were missing parts of their blades, and many of the remaining portions were melted.

"What _happened_ here?" Harrison asked with a concerned tremble in her voice as she looked around the battle-damaged kitchen. Something terrible had happened in this home. As she walked back over to the living room, she caught a whiff of something coming from upstairs.

"Quail, do you smell that?" Harrison asked, her nose scrunching up as the unpleasant odor entered her nostrils. "No, I-wait... yeah, I smell that now. Why didn't we smell it earlier?" Quail asked. "The open door. It allowed air to flow through the house, keeping the stench from building up," Harrison hypothesized.

"It smells pretty bad," Quail muttered as he cautiously followed behind Harrison up the stairs to the second floor. With each step, the stench became stronger. It reminded both of them of something that had died. Given what they'd seen in the house so far, neither of them would have been surprised to find a dead body somewhere.

As they cautiously moved forward onto the landing of the second floor, Harrison took out a set of nose plugs from one of her breast pockets. Putting the small white cylinders into her nostrils, Harrison felt relief as the horrid stench became somewhat nullified, although she could still detect it to a degree. "Quail, put in your nose plugs," Harrison ordered her subordinate quietly.

"Way ahead of ya," Quail said, causing Harrison to turn around and look at the little white cylinders in his nose. Giving him a thumbs-up with her left hand, Harrison cautiously resumed her journey through the house. Approaching what seemed to be a another bedroom, Harrison soon heard a beeping noise coming from within the room.

Peeking around the corner, Harrison saw a small cell phone lying on the floor, with a red LED blinking on and off repeatedly. The stench seemed to be at its strongest in this room, as Harrison and Quail both reluctantly pressed forward, stepping around the dried blood stains on the carpet as they approached the large bed with a set of legs sticking up from behind one side.

Approaching the side of the bed, Harrison saw a man with a gaping hole in his chest, the bones bent outwards, as though something had exploded from inside of him. Both the carpet and the side of the bed were stained with blood and excrement, as the man's pants and underwear were not secured. The man had red hair, and he was obviously one of the owners of the home.

"Quail, we found our first victim. Call the police. _Now_ ," Harrison ordered sternly. There was no hesitation in her voice. Quail nodded his head and began adjusting his headset and portable communication unit.

Staring at the body, Harrison soon turned away and closed her eyes.

 **TWO HOURS LATER...**

As the blue-uniform clad police secured the room with yellow tape, Police Lieutenant Eric Flowers approached Corporal Harrison. "Okay, Corporal, you and your comrades have already given us your statements and everything that we need from you, so... you're free to go," Flowers said. Harrison quietly nodded her head in response.

"Do you have anyone checking out the relay station?" Harrison asked him. "Staff Sergeant Williams already asked me that, Corporal. We have investigators already scouring the place for clues, or at least whatever clues haven't been _contaminated_ already," Flowers said with a scowl.

"Now, why don't you guys head back to your base and let us do our job? If we need you to come in for questioning, we'll call your base and ask for you," Flowers said. "Affirmative," Harrison said in response as she began walking away.

Lieutenant Flowers watched as the soldier walked out of the living room and out of the house over to the military jeep where her comrades were waiting. _Jesus H. Christ! We already have dozens of people missing in Diamond Bay, and now this!? What the hell is going on here!?_

"Lieutenant!" Sergeant Felicia Watters called out, grabbing his attention. "Yeah?" he asked the woman. "We just got a call from patrol unit Wilma-Three-Twelve, a mile up the road. There are three other homesteads in the same condition as this one!"

Flowers raised an eyebrow incredulously. "What. The. Fuck?" he asked in exasperation at the escalating situation. "What the fuck is going on?" There were at least fifteen other settlement homesteads located throughout this portion of the mountain range, and as the hours went by, it was discovered that all of them had experienced the same fate within the past week.

* * *

 **DATE: FRIDAY, JUNE 06, 2183**

 **THE WILHELM FARM**

It was dark, close to 21:30, when Terrence Wilhelm saw the last of his second shift employees drive home for the night. As the lights on the back of the small car soon took a left turn and disappeared down the road, Terrence Wilhelm began slowly making his way back into the the store to begin closing up. His house was only a twenty-minute walk away from the farm itself, located far back by a dirt road near the fields.

As he slowly began walking back, he began humming a tune to himself. He looked around at the fenced-in fields where the ostriches roamed with patches of bare dirt and large grass blocs making for an interesting environment for the birds. A few trees could be found in the field, although none of them bore any edible fruit. He couldn't risk the birds eating something with a parasite in it and contaminating the supply.

As he entered the store, he heard the faint sound of a loud cry from outside. Raising an eyebrow, Wilhelm grabbed a large industrial flashlight and a small hammer before heading outside. He raised the light to scan the fields, seeing several ostriches roaming around, their heads bobbing gently up and down as they walked.

He then heard rustling far behind him in the other field, and he saw several of the large birds running away from a section of tall grass. "Who's there?" Wilhelm called out as he began walking towards the field. He walked around over by the side of the road as he examined the fence, looking for signs of damage or holes.

And lo and behold, he found one. Wilhelm quickly came across a very large hole in the fence, with a large amount of dirt having been dug up from under it. The fence seemed bent inwards, towards the field, indicating that something had pushed through it with force.

He checked the ground for fur and paw prints to determine if a coyote or a cougar had managed to enter the field. There was no fur to be found, but he did find some strange slime near the fence itself. "What the hell?" Wilhelm asked himself curiously, before he heard another bird cry out.

He quickly shot up and looked around, aiming his flashlight over the tall grass with a concerned look on his face. He quickly began running back over to the store, barging inside and going behind his front desk to retrieve a small handgun and 9mm rounds. His license for the weapon was situated underneath its case in a special drawer, and he quickly ran through the safety procedures in his head as he began loading the gun.

Wilhelm knew that it would be safer for him if he called animal control services, but he also knew that if he called and waited, he could lose half of his ostriches in the time it could take for them to arrive. Those birds were his livelihood, and he had no intention of letting them get slaughtered. His own safety was at risk with what he was doing, but it was a risk that he was willing to take.

After making sure that the weapon was ready, Wilhelm returned outside, gun and flashlight in hand as he proceeded over to the gate that allowed entrance to the field. Keeping quiet, Wilhelm unlocked the gate very carefully before slowly opening it and entering the field. The dirt patch in front of him stretched for several meters in every direction, before rows and columns of tall grass took over in blocs throughout the enclosure.

Glancing over to his right, he saw several ostriches huddled together, their heads bobbing up and down as they gulped and looked around in fear at their surroundings. Looking to the left of the group, Wilhelm saw more ostriches gathered together. There were several groups of the birds, with up to five or six ostriches in each group, all throughout the enclosure.

"It's alright, birdies. I'm not gonna let anything happen to ya," Wilhelm said, just before the grass behind one ostrich moved and the bird let out a cry as it was dragged down and behind the grass. Wilhelm's eyes widened at the sight, not noticing the grass in two other blocs parting as something maneuvered through them.

He reached out and gestured for the birds to move. "Go! Move!" he yelled at the birds, waving the arm holding the flashlight. The birds began moving away from the grass and towards Wilhelm, until they stopped and began moving away from him as well.

Wilhelm heard the grass parting behind him before he began turning around. "Damn coyotes, huh? Pack hunt...ers," he said as he saw the creature that was standing up to tower over him. It stood at least seven or eight feet high, with a dark shining exoskeleton. Its head was elongated with no visible eyes, and save for the front and very back, the head was lined with pits and ridges.

There were yellow stripes and highlights along the body of the creature, most notably in oval-shaped sections with piped ribbing, giving the animal an almost industrial look, although in Wilhelm's eyes it reminded him of a large bee or a wasp. The creature appeared both mechanical and organic at the same time, like the concept of a synthetic, only perverted to an audacious degree. One thing was for certain, however, and that was that this was no cougar or coyote, although the maw of the creature had vaguely feline-like definitions in its cheeks and chin angles.

"The... hell?" Wilhelm muttered as he slowly stepped back from the creature. Drool dripped from its lips onto the ground below, and its lips soon curled to reveal metallic teeth. The creature opened its mouth and let out a rush of air, sounding like a mechanical hiss, almost akin to steam bursting out of a pipe.

Wilhelm slowly held up his pistol and kept his flashlight aimed at the creature as he backed away. The tall grass nearby rustled violently as something large sped through it, and before Wilhelm had a chance to react, a second creature had lunged out of the tall grass, barrelling into him and knocking him over, causing him to get off just one round from his gun before the creature grabbed the gun and yanked it out of his hands, throwing it to the side. Wilhelm let out a violent scream as the creature snarled and bit at him, using its clawed hands to lash at him. The first creature watched with some amusement as the ostriches nearby began scattering, running away from the struggle in terror.

A third creature quickly darted out of the grass and leapt onto the back of one of the birds, dragging it to the ground. The long necks of the birds made them unsuitable for hosting embryos, as several facehuggers had discovered when attacking wild ostriches the previous month, and so the large birds had been relegated to a food source. Meanwhile, Wilhelm continued fighting back against the alien creature that was attacking him, his screams echoing into the night.

* * *

 **DATE: SATURDAY, JUNE 07, 2183**

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, A-BLOCK, STREET A-012**

Walking out of the elevator on the first floor after visiting a round of patients on the fifth floor, Dr. Calvin Phillips had his attention pulled away from the data tablet in his hands when he heard the shouting in the reception lobby. Looking over at the number of nurses and fellow physicians gathering in the area, Phillips grabbed one of his colleagues, Dr. Haruo Kawakita, and asked him what was going on.

"No idea. I just received a call that it was urgent," Kawakita said as he rushed over to the lobby. Brushing several people aside, Phillips saw a young girl being cradled in her father's arms, along with a strange pink and yellow-colored... _thing_ attached to her face. It had eight legs and a tail wrapped around her throat.

"Won't somebody do something!?" the girl's father shouted hysterically.

"Sir, please calm down," Phillips said as he walked forward. "Just tell us what happened. What is this thing and how did it get on your daughter's face?" Phillips asked as calmly as he could. "I... I was taking my daughter to the park, and when we were passing an alley, this thing just rushed out and jumped on her!" the man exclaimed, distraught.

Just then, Phillips caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Two construction workers, as evidenced by their uniforms, were dragging a third worker in through the front doors. The third worker also had something attached to his face as well, only this creature was tan in coloration.

"We need a doctor here! This thing just jumped onto Mike's face and we can't get it off!" one of the workers shouted with concern. "Who's Mike?" a patient in a chair asked just before her friend smacked her upside the head and pointed at the worker whose face was being hugged. The distraught father soon craned his neck to look at the workers, seeing their friend afflicted with the same problem as his daughter.

"What happened? Where was he attacked?" Phillips asked as he gestured for Kawakita to take over the father and daughter. "We were inspecting the supply depot on E-Street for spare girders when this thing popped out of nowhere and latched itself to Mike's face!" the smaller of the two workers explained.

"W-What have you done so far before bringing your friend here?" Phillips asked them. "We tried cutting one of the legs off, but the damn thing bleeds acid! It bleeds fuckin' acid! It ate right through my box cutter!" the larger of the two workers relayed in a panicked toned.

Meanwhile, less than a block away, a delivery driver was entering his cabin after securing the door to his van. Closing the driver's side door, he strapped in and buckled his seat belt before he inserted his keys and started the engine before pulling out onto the road. There was a nagging sensation in the back of his head until he remembered something very important that he had forgotten to do.

Keeping his eyes on the road, with a sigh, he reached over to the passenger seat in order to grab the delivery list and attached pen in order to check off his most recent stop. Instead of feeling the paper list, he felt another set of fingers on the seat next to him and looked over, seeing pink fingers with yellow stripes adorning the knuckles. "What the-mmph!" he cried out in alarm as a pink spider-like creature with eight legs launched itself at his face and clamped its legs around him, causing him to swerved his truck out of control as he kept one hand on the wheel while using the other hand in an attempt to get the creature off.

The delivery van swerved through traffic before eventually speeding onto the sidewalk and skidding out of control, slamming into a street light next to the hospital, startling the people inside the lobby and the other pedestrians on the sidewalk.

There were shouts of panic and hysteria in the aftermath of the crash, with one witness, standing right in front of the hospital, shouting for someone to call an ambulance.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY POLICE DEPARTMENT, STATION 01, LATER THAT EVENING...**

"No, we don't need the army's help with this!" Police Chief Heather Young snapped over the phone. "We can take care of this on our own, thank you!" she added quickly. " _Look, I have plenty of soldiers to spare if you need help searching the mountain range. It's no problem for us to provide support so that you can focus the majority of your own forces in the more heavily populated areas. I'm being serious here. I've seen the news reports,_ " Captain Rosenthal said over the phone.

" _You guys are being stretched thin. You've only got, what, eighty officers in the city total?_ " Rosenthal asked. Taking a vapor cigarette out of the left breast pocket of her shirt, the 53 year-old black-haired police chief stuck the soft and malleable white cylinder in her mouth.

"Look, Captain, You only have about eighty people yourself. Besides, we have our own Marine detail posted out here. We can use them more than we can use you. They're already here, and they've been trained to work alongside our own security forces in civilian areas. We'll be fine without you guys coming in here with tanks and blowing the shit out of the place looking for kidnappers and yellow spiders," Young said.

" _Do you know anything about the creatures that have been reported on? Anything that hasn't been released yet?_ " Rosenthal asked her. Young merely huffed in response as she took the vapor-cig out of her mouth and held it between two of her fingers. It proved to be more soothing to her than actually having it in her mouth.

" _Chief Young, please! My own soldiers could be at risk if these spider things attack them and they know next to nothing about them! Even if we stay out of the city on your request, we could still find ourselves dealing with these creatures out here in the farmlands. We know nothing about these things other than that they fucking exist and latch onto people's faces. Nothing else. Come on, what else do you know?_ " Rosenthal screeched over the phone.

"Look, I don't know _shit_ , okay!? I've already got two patrol officers in the hospital with those things attached to them, and I don't know any more than you do, so quit bitching at me!" Young spat back in annoyance. "As soon as I hear from the hospital, I'll let you know what I've been told, okay? In the meantime, just shut up and... I guess, have your soldiers patrol the farmsteads to keep the farmers safe or whatever. Just... can you do that? If I give you some patrol routes to take over out in the farmlands, will you get off my back about coming into the city?" Young asked tiredly over the phone.

" _How many Marines do you have over there?_ " Rosenthal asked her.

"I've got one extra large squad of eighteen soldiers, so-" " _Soldiers? Are thought you said they were Marines_ ," Rosenthal interrupted her. "Soldiers, Marines; what's the fucking difference?" Young asked. " _Soldiers are in the Army and Marines are in the Marine Corps. It's a big fucking difference, Ma'am. Just ask the Marines posted over there in the city; I guarantee you they'll say the same thing_ ," Rosenthal explained over the phone.

"Fine, whatever!" Young huffed in annoyance.

Just then, Captain Darryl Lantham entered Young's office. "Chief, I just got a report from-" Lantham was interrupted when Young held up her hand as she continued talking to Captain Rosenthal over the phone. Lantham nodded his head quietly in response.

"So, like I said, you can have your ' _soldiers_ ' take over the farmland patrol routes until further notice. I will let you know. When I-yes, Captain, when... look, when I hear from them, I will let you know. Good-bye," Young said before hanging up the phone on her desk.

"Annoying shit," she grumbled with a scowl before looking over at Captain Lantham. "Yes?" she asked him. "Chief, we just got a report from the hospital. Twelve more people have been admitted with those things attached to them," Lantham said as he walked over to the desk and handed his data tablet to her.

Young retrieved the tablet and began scrolling through the individual reports on each patient. "Shit, that makes thirty colonists," she said in discontent. "Where the hell are these things coming from?" she then asked in exasperation.

"Well, Captain Poncho has already taken some of his men down into the sewer system in A, B, and C-Blocks," Lantham said. Young glanced up at him from her seat with a raised eyebrow. "Someone reported seeing one of the creatures leaving a sewer-access junction prior to an attack. The Marines are scouring the sewers right now as we speak," Lantham explained further.

"Good. Any word on the colonists who are _missing_ so far?" Young then asked him. "No, Chief. We still have over sixty colonists missing from within the city itself, and nearly forty more from out in the farmlands and mountain range settlements," Lantham replied. "We have missing persons posters and messages being displayed and playing on advertising screens all over the city, especially near the Mag-Lev train stations, but no one has reported anything yet," He continued.

"We also have a report that about a month ago, a team of nineteen humans and one synthetic went missing around the mountains. They were part of a geological survey team funded by Weyland-Yutani," Lantham explained. "A survey team? Wasn't this place already surveyed before it was colonized?" Young asked skeptically.

"This team was supposed to use advanced equipment to check the interior of the mountains for valuable minerals and other elements. They were due to make contact with a professor at the Diamond Bay University nearly three weeks ago to report their progress, but no one's heard from them since early May," Lantham finished, finally catching his breath. Young looked at the man, impressed by his ability to keep speaking for so long.

"Okay, keep me updated on the Marines' progress in the sewers, and have our patrol officers start carrying helmets with face plates around. I want them wearing those any time they enter a place with poor visibility or very little lighting," Young said. "Understood. What about defenses? I heard that those things have blood that can eat through metal," Lantham asked her.

"We only know what one hysterical construction worker said to a doctor. We haven't seen any reports from the hospital confirming or denying that bit of information yet," Young said in response. "Although, to be safe, if you shoot one of those things, make sure that it's from a distance. Better safe than sorry," she said.

Lantham nodded his head curtly. "Understood, Chief. I'll start printing memos on it," he said before turning around. "Hey, I didn't give you permission to leave the room yet," Young called out. Lantham glanced over his shoulder at her. "Okay, you're dismissed," she said.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001**

"So, I take it that things didn't exactly go very well?" Lieutenant Kimberly Hargrove asked Rosenthal. "Chief Young is... very stubborn. She's agreed to let us handle the patrol routes her officers normally take out in the farmlands, but that's about the only concession I could get from her," Rosenthal said in response.

Hargrove nodded her head quietly. "When do we start sending our soldiers out on these patrol routes?" she asked Rosenthal. "Tomorrow, I suppose," he replied.

"Do we... um, know exactly what locations these patrol routes cover? Is Chief Young going to send us a map to plot them out?" Hargrove asked him curiously. Rosenthal opened his mouth to speak, only to realize that, no, Young _hadn't_ given him any of that information. "I need to call her back," he said with a groan before picking up the phone again.

* * *

 **THE SEWERS OF DIAMOND BAY...**

Coming up upon a small office for maintenance workers, Sergeant Calhoun raised his left fist silently as a signal for the three Marines behind him to halt. He then gestured for two of them to move forward and take point. " _Check to see if the door is locked, and then inspect the room quietly. Keep your faces covered at all times_ ," Calhoun whispered over his headset.

The two Marines he'd gestured towards, Private Alicia Mendez and Private Jacob Hollum, both nodded their heads in affirmation. " _Affirmative_ ," they both replied quietly as they passed Calhoun on the walkway of the sewer. They kept their M39 SMGs, which they had been forced to carry over their standard pulse rifles due to being in a heavily populated area, aimed at the ground with their fingers on the trigger guards.

Hollum arrived on one side of the door, next to a large window, and looked at the interior of the room. There were no signs of life that he could detect, so he motioned for Mendez to check the door lock. The door remained shut, and so Mendez took out her electronic lock kit and ran a bypass through the door's control panel.

The door soon slid open with a hiss, and the two Marines entered the room, quietly scanning for signs of the spider-like creatures that had been attacking people throughout the city. After a few minutes of searching the small room, both Marines reported over their headsets that the location was clear. "Understood. We're coming in," Calhoun said in response.

He quickly motioned for the Marine behind him, Private Gates, to stay close as they began making their way to the small office. Once Calhoun entered the office, he frowned at the state of the room. There were candy wrappers and magazines strewn about the floor, and a small trash bin underneath one of the desks was overflowing with used tissues and plastic food containers. "I thought you said the room was clean," he commented jokingly while looking at Mendez.

"We said it was _clear_ , sir," Mendez replied. Glancing behind her, Calhoun spotted a large map of the sewer system pinned to a board on the wall, right next to a door that led to a staircase which would take them up into one of the many buildings in the city. "We're still in B-Block?" Calhoun asked as he saw the outlined section of the map, indicating where the office was located.

"Well, sir, there was a designation above the door outside," Hollum pointed out. Carefully stepping outside and looking up, Calhoun saw that there was indeed a designation above the door, stating that they were in Management Office B-03. Sighing, Calhoun returned to the interior of the office.

"Okay, make a note of the map. We'll take five and then resume our search. Any questions?" Calhoun asked Red Team. Everyone shook their heads, except for Gates, who was frowning at his motion tracker while still standing outside of the door to the room.

"Is something wrong, Private?" Calhoun asked him. Gates pointed to something out of Calhoun's line of sight, forcing the sergeant to walk out of the room and shine his light down the walkway. "What are you seeing?" Calhoun asked Gates.

"Down there, on the floor, next to the wall," Gates said quietly, his gun still pointed forward with his helmet light shining on the wall. "I don't see anything," Calhoun said. Gates slowly began creeping forward until he was crouching next to a spot on the wall that was just beyond the window of the office. "Look at this," Gates said.

Calhoun quietly approached the man and crouched down to look at the wall, finally seeing the bloodied carcasses of a few mice, with dried blood on the wall and floor. "Something attacked these mice, and I doubt it was each other," Gates said, frowning at the smell of the small furry corpses. Calhoun raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the small dead mice as well.

"You think those... things did this?" Calhoun asked Gates. Gates furrowed his brows in thought as he contemplated Calhoun's question. Given how little they knew about the spider-things that had been attacking people lately, anything was possible. However, not one witness to any of the attacks had described the creatures as having any visible mouths.

"I... don't know, Sarge." Gates then turned his head to look up at Calhoun with a thoughtful expression. "None of the pictures we've seen of those creatures have shown any of them having what look like mouths," he said with a shrug.

"Well, we've only seen what they look like from the top. Maybe their mouths are located on the side attached to their victims' faces," Calhoun suggested as a counterpoint. Gates looked back down at the dead rodents, silently mulling over Calhoun's words. "Hm. Maybe," he said with a shrug before standing up follow Calhoun back into the office with the others.

* * *

 **DATE: SUNDAY, JUNE 08, 2183**

 **DIAMOND VALLEY, FARMER'S ROUTE**

Driving slowly along the road, Sasha Harrison scanned the fields of corn, wheat, and various other crops that lined the side of the road. Sitting in the passenger seat next to her, Donovan Quail held a turned-off motion tracker and some spare face masks and neck guards. "I don't suppose we'd even be able to _see_ these things coming in these fields, would we?" Quail asked rhetorically.

Sasha merely shrugged in response as she continued driving the jeep. Both soldiers had been given permission to carry their sidearms with them as a precaution, but they were otherwise unarmed. Soon, the duo came upon the fenced-in fields for the Wilhelm Farm.

Looking out the window, Quail soon noticed a very small number of ostriches walking around in groups. At first, he thought nothing of it, until he saw what looked like a hole in the fence as they passed it. "Hey, stop the jeep!" Quail said urgently.

"Why?" Sasha asked him as she put her foot on the brake pedal.

"I think I saw a hole in the fence," Quail answered, glancing back over his shoulder as he rolled down the window. "Hey, don't stick your head out there, dummy," Sasha warned him as she leaned over and grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him back before raising the window. "Sorry," Quail muttered apologetically.

"Alright, where did you see a hole in the fence?" Sasha asked him. Quail jerked his thumb backwards. "A couple feet back that way. We just passed it," he said. Sasha frowned before putting the jeep in park and shutting off the engine. She made sure to turn on the flashers before checking her side-view mirrors and getting out of the jeep.

Reaching down, Sasha kept one hand on the holster of her sidearm before cautiously making her way over to the back of the vehicle. As she walked closer to the fence, she soon saw the hole that Quail had been referring to earlier. Noticing the size of the hole, a feeling of unease began welling up inside of her. She quickly made her way back over to the jeep and got in, not bothering to buckle her seat belt as she turned the engine back on and took off the flashers.

"We're gonna make a quick stop at Wilhelm's," Sasha said to Quail as she began driving the jeep forward, slowly making a turn onto the dirt path that led to the farm. With surprise, Sasha and Quail both saw a handful of ostriches walking around the road, outside of the field. Eventually, they reached the parking area for deliveries and the store, with Sasha parking the jeep in front of the store next to a pickup truck and a few cars that belonged to some of Wilhelm's employees. Turning off the engine, Sash soon noticed that both a window and the door to the store were damaged and smashed open.

Sasha and Quail both checked their sidearms before getting out of the jeep. "Mr. Wilhelm?" Sasha asked loudly in concern. "Terrence?" she called out again as she walked towards the broken door of the store.

Looking around at the field behind them, Quail saw that the gate was unlocked, and at least two ostriches were walking around in the parking lot. "Hey, Sash? Somethin' ain't right," Quail said as he looked around and noticed the lack of noise or people, despite the presence of multiple parked vehicles. Sasha nodded her head in agreement as she pulled out her M4A3 service pistol, a standard issue recoil-operated semi-automatic weapon that fired 9mm rounds and came with a 12-round detachable box magazine, keeping her fingers on the trigger guard and aiming the barrel of the weapon at the ground while slowly approaching the front of the store.

"Terrence, are you in here? Is _anybody_ here?" Sasha asked as she slowly stepped into the store, trying to touch as little of the area as possible. She quickly reached into one of her uniform's pant pockets and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves to slip on.

"Terrence?" Sasha called out again as she crept around the clearly ransacked interior of the store. Shelves had been knocked over, candy bars and jerky packages littered the floor, showing the prints of some kind of animal in various locations. As with some of the bloodied prints she had seen the other day, these prints had six digits. "What the hell is going on here?" she asked quietly as she slowly walked through the farm store.

Sasha soon saw blood stains on the floor and some of the shelves. Swallowing nervously, Sasha slowly crept around the next shelf as she walked over to the freezers and fridges, noticing that they had been left alone, although there were still bloodied hand prints on the outside of the protective glass doors. Sasha remembered seeing a few cars and a truck parked outside, but otherwise, there were no signs of anyone being on the farm.

Walking over towards the register, Sasha carefully grabbed a box of wax paper and tore it open, removing a sheet and holding it in her gloved hands before reaching forward and opening the cash drawer of the first register. The drawer was full, and there were no signs of any of the money having been touched since it was put in the drawer. Looking over at the second register, Sasha noticed that the drawer hadn't even been put inside the machine, and there was a gaping hole where the cash drawer was supposed to rest.

Meanwhile, outside, Quail slowly walked around the perimeter of the store, eventually coming across a lone hat lying on the ground. Walking cautiously towards the hat, Quail slowly bent down and reached forward to pick it up, his fingers just touching the edge when a breeze passed by and carried a strong odor with it. Quail's face scrunched up in disgust as he once again smelled a death in the air.

"Oh, not again," he muttered before grabbing the hat and lifting it up in the air, seeing nothing but dirt underneath it. He quickly dropped the hat and watched as it rolled onto its original position. "Why doesn't my Army cap ever do that?" Quail pondered for a few seconds before noticing a large hole in the second field's fence, in addition to a large amount of dirt and grass having been dug up from under it.

He was just about to investigate when he heard Sasha's voice.

"Hey, Quail! Have you found anybody!?" Sasha asked as she exited the store and walked around, soon noticing the smashed windshield of one of the parked cars. She soon heard boots moving on the ground and glanced over to see Quail emerging from the side of the store.

"Negative, Sash. There's no one here," he said in response as he walked over to her. "Have you checked these vehicles? Could someone be hiding?" she asked him as she began walking between the parked cars and looking in the windows.

There was no sign of anyone being in any of the cars. "Where is everyone?" she asked. "Sash, I think we ought to check the fields," Quail suggested. Sasha turned to look at him before noticing something over by a grain silo back near one of the field gates. There was some kind of dark-colored lump on the ground.

"Quail, see that?" Sasha asked as she pointed to the strange object in the distance. Quail turned around and looked over to where Sasha was pointing. "Yeah, I see it. Let me get the motion track-no, we'll just ending up picking up the ostriches," Quail said before shaking his head at the idea.

"There's enough open ground out here," Sasha said before making her way towards the lump on the ground. As she got closer, a terrible odor hit her nose. It was the stench of decay and blood. Whatever she was approaching was a body of some kind.

Getting closer, and pushing through the stench, Sasha soon noticed the feathers on the ground that were pushed around by the occasional breeze. The object on the ground was now clearly a dead ostrich. The animal's neck had been severed and chewed in several places, and its bones were visible among eaten and rotten flesh as flies buzzed around it.

The majority of the main body, however, was almost completely devoured, with only the featured wings providing any cover over the exposed and torn-apart rib cage of the animal. The legs of the bird had been eaten to the bone, with even the scale-covered ankles and feet having been torn up by whatever had attacked it. "Jesus Christ," Sasha muttered at the sight.

"Is that an ostrich?" Quail asked as he walked up behind Sasha, causing her to jump very slightly. "Sorry," Quail muttered as he noticed Sasha's reaction. "Quail, we need to check on Wilhelm's house. It's up that way," Sasha said as she pointed to the building seen in the distance, surrounded by tall grass and wheat.

"We should probably drive there," Quail suggested, his eyes warily scanning the tall grass as it swayed with the breeze. An ostrich could be seen walking through the grass now and then, the birds apparently exploring the area without supervision. Sasha nodded her head as she realized how vulnerable they both would be while traversing around the tall grass on foot, even with their service pistols at their sides. After all, they were only equipped with standard 9mm ball ammo. Armor-piercing ammunition could only be taken outside of the base for emergency combat scenarios, and being substitute patrol officers did not count as an emergency combat scenario.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Sasha said as she slowly turned around, keeping her pistol aimed at the ground as she and Quail both carefully made their way back to the jeep, constantly checking their surroundings for signs of danger. As soon as they were both in their seats, they locked the doors of the vehicle, with Quail being the only one buckling his seat-belt. Checking the area behind her as she turned on the engine and began backing up, Sasha carefully maneuvered the jeep with a K-turn before heading off towards the house in the middle of the field.

"Sash, put on your seat belt," Quail said. Sasha snorted at his request. "It's only a three minute drive at most," she retorted. "Sash, please. With the ostriches running loose, we should be careful in case we have to stop suddenly," Quail said pleadingly.

Putting the jeep into park, Sasha buckled her seat belt, grumbling about Quail being a whiner the whole time. "There. Are you happy?" Sasha asked Quail before putting the jeep back into drive and pushing ahead towards the Wilhelm's property. "Yes. I am _very happy_ , Sash," Quail replied with an exasperated sigh.

" _Cry-baby_ ," Sasha muttered as she slowly drove up towards the house, her eyes scanning the dirt road and the tall grass for signs of ostriches and possible farm hands. Pulling up to a blank dirt area near a shed and a parked pickup truck, Sasha put the jeep into park. She and Quail both scanned the area for signs of danger.

"See anything?" Sasha asked Quail. Quail shook his head in response. "Alright, keep your eyes peeled," Sasha said before unlocking the front doors. She quickly unbuckled her seat-belt before getting out of the jeep and walking up to the front door of Wilhelm's home, once again drawing her service pistol and keeping it pointed at the ground.

Terrence Wilhelm's home was a standard rural housing unit in design and layout, constructed from a modular colonial cargo shuttle intended specifically for disassembly and reconstruction after arriving at its destination, as was the case with the vast majority of housing units found on LV-475 and other colonies. The nearby shed, however, had been constructed from spare parts located at a Colonial Administration surplus store within Diamond Bay. Despite the clearly high-tech origins of the home and shed, both buildings had very low-tech outer appearances that felt right at home with their surroundings.

"Terrence? Terrence Wilhelm?" Sasha called out as she looked up and saw a broken window on the second floor of the housing unit. Gulping, Sasha knelt down and searched under the face mat on the ground for a set of keys. Terrence Wilhelm had invited her and other soldiers into his home at times in the past, mostly for the sake of making sure that he had loyal customers, and so Sasha was well aware that the man kept a spare house key hidden under the mat.

Feeling the cool metal of the key under her fingers, Sasha smirked before grabbing it and pulling it out from under the mat, wiping the dirt off before inserting it into the manual lock and key hole on the front door's access panel. Walking up behind her, Quail noticed the broken window above them. "Shouldn't there be an alarm going off?" Quail asked Sasha as she turned the key and pressed the button to open the front door of the house.

"If the house were locked properly... yes," Sasha said warily. The front door shouldn't have opened as easily as it had, even with the key. She knew from past interactions that Terrence Wilhelm often left his home unlocked while he was at the farm, but always made sure to activate the security system at night after retiring for the evening.

The ease with which Sasha had opened the door meant that Terrence Wilhelm either had already gotten up and left the house that morning, or he hadn't been able to lock the home the previous night. Certainly, with the state of the farm store and the open gates of the ostrich fences being what they were, Terrence Wilhelm would have at least called somebody for help, yet his employees' vehicles were still parked at the farm. Someone should have called the police or emergency services at some point, yet Sasha could not recall hearing anything over the jeep's radio or reading anything on the base's network computers about an incident at the farm.

"Quail, go look around the outside of the house," Sasha said. "But-" "That's an order," Sasha said firmly.

"Affirmative... _Corporal_ ," Quail said in response as he began making his way around the outside of the house. Stepping forward, Sasha looked around the inside of the house, seeing that everything was... intact. Nothing had been knocked over, and there were no horrible stenches coming from inside anywhere. Slowly walking through the living room, Sasha saw a TV mounted on the wall, and an armchair situated several meters back from it next to a coffee table.

"Terrence?" Sasha called out softly once more. This time, there was desperation in her voice, as the lack of any human presence on the farm and in the house was started to unnerve her. Perhaps having Quail search the outside by himself hadn't been the best idea.

Looking over at a wall nearby, Sasha saw a daily planner on a kitchen table. Walking over to the table, Sasha looked down and saw the dates and times written down in a log. The last recorded date for anything was on Friday, the 6th.

Sasha now realized that Terrence Wilhelm had not been inside his house for at least 48 hours.

Turning around and walking over to the stairs, Sasha carefully crept up to the second floor. She still had a broken window to investigate, after all. As quietly as she could, she swept the hallway and entered the storage rooms of the second floor. Terrence Wilhelm's bedroom was located on the first floor.

Entering the room with the broken window, Sasha saw no signs of rummaging. Everything was orderly and intact. Only the broken window gave any evidence that something had happened, but there was no sign of what had broken the window in the first place... until Sasha saw dirt marks and feathers on the floor. Foot prints, with six digits on them, just like before, covered the floor and wall under the window.

Meanwhile, outside the house, Quail inspected the mostly-eaten carcass of yet another ostrich. This one, however, was up in the branches of a tree near the shed. "Okay. So, we've got ourselves a cougar," Quail said to himself.

As far as Donovan Quail was aware, only a big cat could kill a bird that large and drag the body up into a tree. However, the big cats known for such behavior, such as leopards, were not found in Diamond Valley. And the wild prey populations should have been plenty large enough that a cougar wouldn't need to venture out and attack a farm in order to get food, at least as far as Quail was aware.

Speaking into his headset, Quail contacted Sasha. "Hey, Sash? I've found the body of another ostrich. This one's up in a tree. I think we're dealing with a big cat problem," Quail said. " _Just stay where you are. I'll be right there,_ " Sasha said over the headset.

A few minutes later, Sasha emerged from Terrence Wilhelm's home. "So, find anything in the house?" Quail asked her. "I found some prints in the upstairs storage room. They don't belong to a cat, though," Sasha said as she gestured for Quail to meet her over at the jeep.

"So no one's home?" Quail asked her. "No. There's nobody here. There hasn't been anyone here for at least two days," Sasha replied as she opened the doors and looked around, scanning the farm for signs of trouble.

"So what do we do?" Quail asked Sasha as she got back in the vehicle, prompting him to do the same. "We report this to the police, and we wait for further instructions," Sasha replied worriedly. She quickly started the engine and grabbed the jeep's radio, calling the Diamond Bay Police Department and explaining the situation.

" _We'll have a forensics unit out there as soon as we can. Just hold on a little while, over,_ " the reception jockey said. Sasha let out a sigh. "Can do. Over," she said before putting the microphone back on the hook.

Sasha reclined back in her seat and closed her eyes. "Just what the hell is going on, Quail? I mean, what the hell is going on? What are these spider things? Are the spider things related to whatever animals attacked this farm? And just where the hell are all of the people disappearing to!?" she asked him with frustration in her voice. Quail shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I have _no idea_ ," he said honestly.

Neither of them had any idea, really, of just what kind of enemy they were dealing with, nor what sort of nightmarish hell the creatures would be unleashing upon them and their comrades in the coming days as the infestation slowly grew into an epidemic.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter 03 of EPIDEMIC. Some of you may have noticed that there hasn't been much Xenomorph action in this story so far. Don't worry, I'm building up to it. And yes, the two varieties of Xenomorph, the T-37 Strain and the A-22 Strain, will come into conflict with each other at various points in the story. After all, the two strains both have their own respective hives, which means that they are both competing for resources and hosts in the same area. So, there will be warriors and runners for both strains, and queens as well.

Now, the next chapter _will_ feature Xenomorph action, albeit in a restrained manner. It won't be until either chapter five or chapter six that the roller coaster really starts moving and we enter heavy action territory. Also, I'm sorry if parts of the story seem a bit disjointed. I'm just doing what I can to build up the characters and the settings before diving into the action, so that you, the readers, can care about what happens on some level. I'm also trying to establish how much time is passing as the xenomorphs abduct and build their hives' populations before they actually begin their large scale assaults on the humans. I just hope I don't bore all of you to death first.

As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews, along with suggestions for how to write certain things better.


	4. EPIDEMIC

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

While writing this chapter, I listened to the soundtracks for _John Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness_ (1987) by John Carpenter, _ALIENS_ (1986) by James Horner, and _Predator_ (1987) by Alan Silvestri.

 **Prince of Darkness** : _Opening Title_ , _Darkness Falls_ , _Hell Breaks Loose_.

 **ALIENS** : _Combat Drop_ (Theatrical Replacement piece by Harry Rabinowitz), _Combat Drop_ (Original intended version by James Horner)

 **Predator** : _Long Tall Sally_ (Little Richard version heard in helicopter ride), Main Title.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 04: EPIDEMIC  
**

* * *

 **DATE: SUNDAY, JUNE 08, 2183**

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, A-BLOCK, STREET A-012**

Looking over the lists of patients the observation room, Doctor Haruo Kawakita scrunched his face in a frown. Standing between him and a dozen patients was a 6-inch thick window and surrounding wall. Every patient in the room had been admitted with a strange creature attached to their face.

All of the creatures had eight limbs, tails, and what looked like respiratory bladders. They had no visible eyes or other recognizable sensory or even olfactory organs, and it had been discovered through extensive examination that the creatures were producing a paralytic chemical compound that caused a very negative reaction within the patient during attempts at removal. One of the patients had almost died during the procedure to remove the creature, and samples taken from the face hugging thing had shown just how risky any future attempts would be.

CAT-scans of the patients had shown strange tubes, a proboscis of some kind, entrenched within the throats of the victims, emerging from within these creatures. These... facehuggers, as they had been dubbed for obvious reasons. An early attempt at cutting one of the creatures' limbs off proved to be disastrous, as the warnings of one patient's comrade were shown to be correct. The creatures' blood was highly corrosive, almost akin to molecular acid or a strong base.

However, in spite of the basic physical similarities between the creatures, there were a few key differences that denoted two phenotypes. One type of facehugger was a basic tan/yellow coloration, while the other phenotype was pink with yellow spots and stripes adorning their bodies. Another difference between the two creatures was that the tan facehuggers had the more dangerous blood of the two types, with just a small splash eating through two layers of floors and ceilings of the building.

The pink and yellow facehuggers' blood, while still dangerous, was noticeably less potent in comparison. Their blood only ate through one layer of floor and ceiling, although the amount of blood that had been spilled was almost smaller than what the tan creature had spilled. Of course, nobody wanted to start cutting the creatures open for more accurate comparisons between their blood's corrosiveness any time soon.

As Kawakita walked over to the next observation room, he turned on the light from a switch on the outside and looked down at his notes, only to glance back up as something became immediately apparent. The facehuggers had removed themselves from most of the patients' faces. Kawakita ran back over to look at the patients in Room D-O-01 before checking their admission times. He then ran back over to look at the creature-free patients of Room D-O-02, checking their admission times on his list as well.

The patients in Room D-O-02 had been among the earliest arrivals, with those in the next room being among the later arrivals. Kawakita then ran over to look at the patients in Room D-O-03, the third observation room of Level D. Half of the patients in that room were also missing the creatures on their faces.

Kawakita then took out his data tablet and accessed the hospital's patient database. He searched for more detailed notes on the patients, such as when they were recorded as having been attacked by the creatures. Just because some patients had been brought in before others didn't mean that they had been attacked before them.

After a few minutes, Kawakita used the intercom to call for a few nurses and a synthetic to join him in the Observation Block of Level D. He then used a private channel to call for two security officers to show up with non-lethal defenses and animal capture devices. Several minutes later, two male nurses and three female nurses had arrived, along with a synthetic medical technician pushing a cart of supplies. Glancing over his shoulder at the rows of patients in the room behind him, Kawakita furrowed his brows before looking at the nurses assembled before him. He then focused his attention on the synthetic, a thinly built black-haired model whose name-tag read 'Bob'.

A minute later, two female hospital security guards, both wearing protective face gear and helmets, entered the hallway with a cart full of small animal carrier crates and several stun batons. They were also both equipped with taser pistols. "Okay, Bob, I want you to accompany these guards into room D-O-zero-two," Kawakita said firmly. "Take the animal capture supplies in with you, and make sure that the containment doors are firmly shut behind you," Kawakita continued as he eyed the two women, named Sanders and Berkel.

"Got it," the Sanders, taller of the two, said as she nodded her head while chewing a stick of gum. Her shorter companion, Berkel, a dark-skinned woman with a prosthetic arm, also nodded her head in agreement. Meanwhile, Bob was already waiting at the outer containment door, which was essentially an airlock door. All observation and quarantine rooms had small airlocks with an inner and outer door.

The two guards quickly pulled their cart alongside them and entered the airlock with Bob before closing the outer door. When the door was shut, they opened the inner door, which slid open with a faint squeal. It needed to be oiled or greased soon.

Stepping inside the room, the two guards cautiously turned on a motion tracker and kept their backs against the wall as they began scanning the room, while Bob slowly began checking under the beds of the patients for signs of the facehuggers. One by one, Bob checked under each bed and table, slowly accruing a small number of limp and seemingly dead facehuggers every few feet he moved.

Soon, all but five facehuggers were accounted for, and none of them showed any signs of life when Bob poked and prodded them, aside from a few muscle reflexes. "Where are the other ones?" Berkel asked with some trepidation in her voice. Silently, Bob glanced up at the ceiling of the room, where he saw one of the creatures lying on a support beam next to a light.

He silently pointed upward at the creature, causing both guards to look up as well. "I don't see it moving," Sanders commented as she stepped to the side to get a better look. Bob reached up with a long and thin light rod to poke at the creature, which made no physical response before Bob dragged a stepping stool over from a corner and grabbed it, pulling it down with ease before holding it by the tail as he walked over to the cart to deposit it inside another carrier.

"Just four more," Bob said as he looked around, eventually spying another of the dead facehuggers lying on the floor next to a cabinet marked with a hazardous material sign. Walking gingerly over to the floor, Bob picked up the dead creature before he saw another one nearby, its tail poking out of a drawer in another cabinet. Opening the drawer, Bob pulled out the next creature, discovering to his surprise that this one was still alive.

Its limbs moved sluggishly as Bob carried it through the air, eventually depositing it in an empty carrier. The pink and yellow-striped creature very sluggishly crawled into the back of the carrier and curled itself up before it stopped moving. Bob then began searching for the last two facehuggers, opening drawers and closing them, before finding the last two on the tops of wooden cabinets. After taking them over and depositing them in a carrier together with several other dead facehuggers, Bob walked over to the comm panel on the wall.

"We've secured all of the creatures. All but one are dead," Bob said over the comm. " _Good. Keep the live one locked away. We'll be in shortly to begin checking the vital signs of the patients. In the meantime, I want the three of you to head over to the next room and begin searching for the missing creatures in there as well,_ " Kawakita responded over the comm.

"Understood, Doctor," Bob replied before walking over to the airlock doors, dragging the cart of animal carriers with him. Sanders and Berkel both followed behind him and proceeded out of the room and into the next one as they had been instructed, while Dr. Kawakita and his nurses quickly made their way into room D-O-02 and began checking the patients, taking blood samples, and checking their vital signs.

* * *

 **CONFERENCE ROOM B-002, DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, LATER THAT EVENING...**

Night had already fallen when the majority of the leading physicians had been called into a meeting by the head doctor. Looking at the collection of images on the screen in front of them, Dr. Kawakita, Dr. Shannon Munroe, Dr. Phillips, Dr. Samantha McAffee, Dr. Samuel Higgins, Dr. Hannah McCormick, Dr. Jennifer Kruger, Dr. Harold Bowers, Dr. Adam Kawalski, and head doctor Kenneth McAllister all felt a sense of unease and apprehension. Pressing a button on a keyboard next to the computer that was hooked up to the conference room's multi-function TV screen, Dr. McAllister frowned.

"Doctors, in the past twenty four hours, we've had over fifty colonists admitted with these things attached to their faces," McAllister said as he looked around at his fellow physicians and a handful of nurses, plus three Bob synthetics and four security guards. "Now, with at least half of the creatures dying after removing themselves from many of the earliest arrivals this afternoon, we've begun... studying them. Both the creatures and the patients."

"We haven't contacted the police yet, and we haven't issued any statements to the families of the patients," McAllister said, watching as his fellow doctors began raising eyebrows and looks of bewilderment crossed their faces. "The reason for this is that the patients are still unresponsive and in a comatose state. Now, as our testing discovered, these creatures produced some kind of paralytic chemical to render the victim immobile, and of course any attempt to remove the creature resulted in the chemical running wild through the patient's system, almost killing them."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, with a few of them having been present when this had been discovered. "So, now that some of these creatures are dead, and blood tests have shown that there are only trace amounts of the chemical in the patients' systems, we still have to figure out just what the hell these things were doing to them in the first place," the elderly doctor continued. "We've confirmed that there's no threat of airborne contamination from the creatures, right? But what about inside the patients?"

McAllister then pressed a button and used a mouse to select a new folder of images for the slide show. "Now, this is what our scans have shown so far, even in the patients with the creatures still attached to them," he said. An X-ray image showed a dark spot in a young girl's chest cavity, and the same for another patient, and another, and another...

"What are they?" Dr. Kruger asked curiously. "We don't know. I'm going to have some more in depth scans performed tonight on the patients, and I'm going to need all of you here for this. Now, when Johnson, Kessler, MacReady, and Reese all turn in for their shifts tomorrow, I want one of you to drag them up here and show them everything," McAllister said, referring to four physicians who'd had the previous few days off.

"No physician or nurse in this building is to be unaware of critical information regarding these creatures and the patients. We still don't know where they're coming from, and we're continuing to receive patients with the creatures attached to them as we hold this conference," McAllister said. He then looked over at the Bobs, one of whom had a recently replaced left hand, a result of being under one of the floors that one of the creature's had bled through.

"Bob Fifteen, how long until the analysis of the living specimen is finished?" McAllister asked the synthetic. "Sir, the creature died over an hour after it had been found," Bob-015 replied. "Security footage of the observation room is being inspected right now to determine which patient the creature came from and how much time had passed before we entered the room," Bob-015 added.

Next to him, Bob-006 and Bob-011 both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Now, even though the dead creatures are still being dissected and analyzed, we _have_ been able to gather some new information regarding their biology prior to this meeting. As Bob Eleven told me earlier, the creature's blood oxidizes after its death, thereby neutralizing it, correct?" McAllister stated. Bob-011 nodded his head.

"That is correct. It appears to be that way with both phenotypes," he stated, causing McAllister to adjust his glasses before clearing his throat. "Yes, that brings us to another point. Do we know anything else about these two variations and other differences between them?" McAllister asked Bob-011.

"Well, Doctor, it would seem that there are slight differences in terms in internal organic components, but really only in terms of organ sizes. Both varieties appear to have the exact same internal structure, and the majority of the same organs. The differences are mostly cosmetic, otherwise, although the pink creatures have certain organs arranged in a different manner and some of the organs are smaller and more compact, mostly because they do have at least one more set of muscles and organs that the tan creatures seem to lack," Bob-011 explained.

"Is that so?" Dr. Phillips asked him curiously.

"Yes, but we aren't entirely certain of just what they do or why yet, as we haven't seen these creatures alive without being attached to someone, and the only one that was alive died shortly after we found it. The research team in the medical lab is still performing the dissections as we speak. When we know more, we'll spread the information. Also, I forgot to mention, the pink creatures are just slightly larger than the tan ones, but mostly because their tails are about four centimeters longer on average. We measured all of the creatures' bodies," he added.

McAllister and the other doctors all nodded their heads. "Alright, with that in mind, please try-" McAllister was interrupted as the lights dimmed before brightening again. "What the hell?" he asked as they started dimming again. "A brown out?" Dr. McCormick asked curiously.

"Maybe," Dr. McAffee said as she looked around, just before the lights went out completely. The only light in the room was now the TV screen, which was connected to a different set of wires than the lights. "What just happened!?" Dr. Bowers asked.

Taking out a small personal flashlight, McAllister made his way over to the comm panel on the wall and tried to contact maintenance. "Hello? What's going on?" he asked. " _Someone blew a fuse down here. I've got two synthetics checking it out right now,_ " the head of maintenance replied over the comm.

" _Just give them a few minutes to... what was that?_ " the man asked over the other end. "I'm sorry, what?" McAllister asked him. " _I thought I saw-what was that noise? Who's out there? Bob?_ " the maintenance chief asked, his voice growing loud.

There was more noise on the other end as McAllister heard a faint creaking noise, followed by the faint rubbery click of what sounded like a heavy-duty flashlight being turned on. "Mr. Bush, what's going on?" McAllister asked over the comm. " _I don't know. I thought I heard something outside the-what was that? What was that?_ " Bush asked.

"Bush? What's going on?" McAllister asked. He then heard the faint sound of a door sliding open in the background.

"Bush?" McAllister asked again. " _What the heaaaaahhh!_ " Bush cried out before the comm went silent.

"Bush? Bush!? Bush!" McAllister exclaimed. "Security, head down to the maintenance lounge in the basement. Find out what's going on," McAllister said as he pointed his flashlight at the security guards in the room.

The guards quickly made their way out of the conference room as the door slid open, operating on a different circuit from the lights.

"Alright, now everyone just stay in here until the lights come back on or security returns. We should have plenty of Bobs already in the hallways checking on patients and visitors, so remain calm and follow procedure," McAllister said firmly. "Remember, just stay calm and everything will be all right."

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY POLICE DEPARTMENT, STATION 01, ONE HOUR LATER...**

Police Sergeant Vincent Danielson picked up the ringing phone on the reception desk. "Hello, this is the Diamond Bay Police Department, Sergeant Danielson speaking," he said. The night shift reception officer had left to use the bathroom two minutes earlier, and so Danielson was staying at the desk until he returned.

" _We need help at the hospital! Please, for Christ's sake, send a SWAT team or something!_ " a panicked voice cried out over the line. Danielson grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "Whoa, okay. Sir, please remain calm. Now, take a deep breath and try to concentrate. What is the nature of this emergency?" Danielson asked.

" _I don't know! We've lost power to half of the building, and there's some kind of animal running around in here! I was checking on some patients in my assigned wing, when I heard screaming out in the hallway. I saw something big moving around, and a tail! There's an animal running around in here!_ " the man raved.

Danielson looked down at his notes. "Okay, so you believe that there is a dangerous animal inside the facility, is that correct?" he asked as calmly as he could. " _I think there's more than one,_ " the man said, before a faint and muffled scream was heard in the background.

"Okay, I want you to calm your breathing, look around, and tell me where you are. What part of the building are you currently in. Please describe this to me as best you can. What floor, what room number?" Danielson asked calmly.

" _I left the door open. I left the door open. I need to close the door,_ " the nurse said fearfully. "Okay, close the door slowly. Try to make as little noise as possible, and try to see if there are any other people in the hallways. See if anyone might be injured, but don't do anything. I just need to know in case we have to send emergency medical services... which you guys provide," Danielson said as he slapped himself in the forehead.

" _O-Okay. I-I'm going to crawl over to the door and-and peek outside before I close it_ ," the nurse whispered excitedly. "Alright, just do that. Just close the door and then you'll be okay. If you hear anything moving, remain silent. Do you understand? Remain calm and make as little noise as possible," Danielson said.

" _Okay. I'm peeking out the door, and the hallway to my right is clear. To my left is the waiting room down the hall and-oh my god. Oh my god, I see them! I see them! There's three of them in the waiting room!_ " the panicking male nurse whispered in fear over the phone. Danielson listened as he tried looking for a on-desk comm panel and a spare phone to contact animal control services.

"Okay, sir, I'm going to try to put you through to animal control services. They have all of the gear and training needed to handle dangerous animals, so I want you to try to memorize as much as you can about the animals and then close the door of whatever room you're in, find a place to hide and stay there," Danielson said. There was panicked breathing on the other end of the line.

"Sir, can you hear me? I want you to calm your breathing. Just remain calm and-" " _Jesus Christ!_ " the man whispered in fear before a scurrying sound was heard over the phone and the sound of a door sliding closed. "Sir, sir what's going on?" Danielson asked.

" _I shined my light on one of them. They have no eyes. They have no eyes! They have this dome on their head! They... they're monsters. They're monsters! They're as big as a man! They have claws and fangs and they look like skeletons!_ " the man said in a panic.

"Okay, sir. Please try to remain calm. Now, did you close the door to the room that you're in?" Danielson asked, just as he saw the night shift operator returning. He quietly motioned for him to hustle. "Call animal control. Tell them that there's a situation at the hospital, and notify our night officers that they may need to assist animal control," Danielson said.

" _Yes, but I think they heard me,_ " the man said. "Okay, but the door is closed? You're safe now?" Danielson asked in response. " _I... I think-oh shit_ ," the man whispered as the faint sound of a door sliding open could be heard over the phone, followed by faint footsteps.

Danielson listened and wait, knowing that speaking up now could alert the animal to the caller's presence. He heard shallow and muffled breathing, indicating that the caller had covered his mouth. There was a faint hiss over the phone, followed by a faint whimper. And then, the caller screamed as he was dragged away from his phone.

Danielson quickly gave the phone to reception officer. "Call animal control and tell them to get their asses to the hospital, but not to go inside! Tell them we're dealing with at least three or more large animals. They've been described as having tails, claws, and fangs, and smooth heads," Danielson said, thinking that the caller's description of the creature's domed head must have referred to it simply been smooth-looking. "They're also skeletal in appearance, but I think that means they're starving and will attack anything in sight," he added as the reception officer called Animal Control.

Calling Captain Summers, the officer in charge during night shift, Danielson quickly received permission to galvanize the SWAT officers, before he sent a message to the emergency operators room and set up the phone system to divert all calls from the hospital to the emergency call center located deep within the station, where over two dozen operators where standing by.

Danielson then quickly used the comm to connect to the SWAT department. " _This is Lieutenant Carpenter, night shift SWAT commander. What are we needed for?_ " a female voice asked over the comm.

"Lieutenant, this is Sergeant Danielson. I'm afraid we have a situation at the Diamond Bay Primary Hospital. We need you guys to work closely with Animal Control to capture or neutralize at least three or more large dangerous animals," Danielson said.

" _I understand. Do we have authorization from someone of a higher rank, though?_ " Carpenter asked him. "I already spoke with Captain Summers. He's given the OK for the operation. You're going to meet up with Animal Control and work together. These things have been described as being as large as a man, with claws and fangs and tails. My only caller described them as being skeletal in appearance, indicating that these things might be starving and will attack anything they can find," Danielson said.

" _We'll move out in ten minutes. Carpenter out,_ " the SWAT leader said over the comm. "Don't wait for further instructions. Just get to the hospital with Animal Control and sort things out over there," Danielson said. He trusted Lieutenant Carpenter's judgement, and not just because she outranked him. Just then, the front reception desk's phone rang again after Desk Sergeant Grassley put the phone down. "Hello, this is Sergeant Grassley of the Diamond Bay Police Department, how may I be of assistance to you?" the man asked.

A look of worry soon crossed his face and he turned to look at Danielson. "Y-Yes, just remain calm and find a place to hide. We'll send someone as soon as-he-hello? Hello?" Grassley asked in a concerned manner.

"What happened?" Danielson asked him. "Another animal attack. This call came from the Diamond Valley Grand Shopping Center," Grassley said.

"The mall? It's still open this late?" Danielson asked him. Grassley nodded his head. "Yeah, it's the mall. But it's not open. The caller must be one of-" Grassley was interrupted by another call. "Hello, this is-" " _This is Station number two! We need additional officers over here! Jesus Christ, the things are everywhere!_ " a panicked male voice yelled over the phone.

Faint gunshots were then heard.

"Who's calling!?" Danielson asked Grassley.

"Station number two," Grassley replied nervously.

" _Get back! [Bang! Bang!] Get away from me!_ " the officer cried out before a strange, almost elephant-like cry was heard, followed by a snarl of some kind.

" _Hodges, behind you! Hodges!_ " came a faint cry in the background between the sound of SMG and pistol fire, with more strange screeches and hisses, along with clatter from furniture. " _Get that one over there!_ "

Danielson looked at Grassley with concern, until Grassley looked out at the front glass doors and windows of the lobby and a confused look on his face after hearing the faint sound of a horn honking. Turning look at the lobby windows, Danielson saw something moving in the darkness behind the glass, among the sea of other lights produced by the street lamps and the various buildings of the city. There were two lights in particular, though, that caught both men's attention.

The lights were moving very fast. They were the headlights of a large truck, whose horn was honking every couple of minutes. The truck was a standard shipping truck, but there was no cargo container attached to the back of it. Walking up to the front doors of the lobby, Danielson stepped out and watched as the truck swerved around. On the front and top of the vehicle were two large, shining black things, with yellow spots on them.

One of the things had an arm reaching into the cabin window of the truck on the driver's side, while the other thing was trying to open the passenger side door as the truck driver kept swerving his vehicle around in an attempt to shake the creatures off. Soon, however, Danielson noticed that the truck was getting closer to the station, and he didn't think that the vehicle's operator was in much position to care. "Oh shit," Danielson muttered as the truck sped forward, honking its horn as it bore down on the station.

Danielson quickly turned around and ran back to the front desk. "Grassley, move your ass!" he shouted as he grabbed the man by his arm and began to drag him away. Looking back, Danielson saw the truck bump onto the curb and lose control.

"What the hell are-" SMASH!

The truck smashed through the lobby windows and doors, driving forward as it swerved around and eventually slammed into a vertical support beam in the middle of the lobby. The driver was jerked around inside, while the black and yellow creatures on the top and side were sent flying from the inertia. The truck was lying on its side now, and Danielson and Grassley had both taken cover back by the entrance of a hallway.

Stepping out into the lobby, with doors opening in the halls both behind them and on the floor above, several more officers made their way towards the center of attention. "What happened!?" one sergeant asked in confusion. "Is anyone hurt!?" asked a deputy.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Danielson soon saw more shapes moving in the darkness outside of the station. Black and yellow limbs and exoskeletal bodies moved swiftly forward, entering the lobby through the broken windows and doors. "What are those things!?" someone cried out as three of the creatures began crawling on the walls.

Danielson quickly unholstered his service pistol and took aim as the beasts swarmed into the station. There must have been two dozen of them as the assault began, with his fellow officers opening fire with their own sidearms as the creatures launched themselves at them. The standard 9mm rounds of the police pistols bounced off of the shiny black exoskeletons of the creatures with little effect as they surged forward, capturing and subduing the night shift officers with little resistance.

"Shit, run! Everyone, get to the armory!" Danielson shouted as he fired at one of the creatures approaching him. He failed to notice the creature on the balcony above him as it crawled down and positioned itself. Still focusing on the immediate threat, Danielson unloaded his entire magazine into the approaching beast, with only two rounds finally causing any damage as small bouts of greenish yellow liquid splashed onto the floor, sizzling and smoking.

Above Danielson, the flanking creature uncurled its tail and stung him with the barb on the end of it. Danielson hissed at the contact, before the creature reached down and grabbed him, pulling him up to the ceiling to wait for his struggles to cease. Meanwhile, Grassley had ducked under a nearby table to hide, but he soon found himself surrounded by three of the monsters, all of whom were smiling at him and baring their teeth as they crawled forward.

Grassley took out his service pistol and whimpered at the creatures to stay back. "Get away! G-Get awaaaaayyyy!" he cried before shooting at them. As before, the 9mm rounds bounced off of the creatures' resilient exoskeletons as they moved forward, their tails poised like a scorpion's. When Grassley was out of ammo, they lunged for him, and his screams of fear and terror tore through the lobby and out onto the streets.

All throughout the city, nightmarish monsters erupted from the sewers and captured people left and right. Those who could escape did so by finding places to hide, while some stood their ground and fought to the last breath, futile as the effort was. The city was quickly caught off guard, and the screams and gunshots echoed into the night until, eventually, silence reigned supreme.

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2183**

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY**

Walking into the cafeteria early in the morning, just a few minutes before Reveille would begin playing over the speakers throughout the base, Captain Burt Rosenthal and 1st Lieutenant Kimberly Hargrove made their way to the automated food dispensers and coffee machines. The pair groggily grabbed trays and cups before retrieving plastic utensils and selecting the food from the dispensers. Yawning, Hargrove placed her cup under the coffee dispenser and waited for it to fill before grabbing two packets of sugar and three small creamer cups.

As Rosenthal grabbed his food, he heard the sound of Reveille playing over the base's speakers, just around 08:00 hours. "On schedule as always," Rosenthal muttered to himself as he watched the machine dispense a bout of heated water to melt down the processed oatmeal cube. Retrieving the bowl, he placed it back on his tray and stirred it with a plastic spoon.

"Didn't we used to have metal utensils?" he asked out loud as he stirred the oatmeal in the bowl. Moving his tray over, he heard foot steps entering the cafeteria. Glancing to his right, he saw 2nd Lieutenant Mathew Dent entering the room. "Morning, Lieutenant Dent," Rosenthal said.

"Good morning," Dent said with the briefest of salutes to his superiors. "So, did anyone else hear fireworks last night?" Dent asked curiously. "Fireworks?" Hargrove asked him curiously.

"Yeah. I thought I heard them. Real faint, like they were going off a hundred miles away or something," Dent said. "I don't recall," Rosenthal said, shaking his head as he grabbed a hash brown from the dispenser. Hargrove followed suit and made her way over to the table that both commanding officers shared as Staff Sergeant Verl Williams entered the room, quickly followed by the base's dropship pilots and Warrant Officer George Jonas, who was a backup MEDEVAC pilot in additional to being a medical technician.

"So, did anyone else hear the fireworks last night?" Dent asked the group as they made their way to the food dispensers and grabbed trays and utensils. "The what?" Williams asked him in confusion, just as Rook entered the room.

"Hey, Rook? Did you hear any fireworks last night?" Dent asked the synthetic. Rook looked at him with a confused expression. "Fireworks? Wait a minute... I recall hearing some scattered noises that resembled gunshots while I was fixing a security camera outside last night," Rook said.

"Gunshots?" Jonas asked him with concern. "Yeah. They were faint, but I heard them. I checked the radios and communication systems to see if anyone in Diamond Bay knew what was going on, but I didn't hear back from them," Rook replied.

"Eh, don't worry about it. Chief Young made it very clear that they don't want out help for anything. Besides, they have a nice compliment of Marines over there. They don't ' _need_ ' our help," Rosenthal said grumpily.

Hargrove frowned at this. "I think we should send someone over to see if they need help anyway, if what Rook heard last night were indeed gunshots. Besides, what if this is related to what Corporal Harrison and Specialist Quail reported yesterday morning? People's lives could be at stake," she said, looking back and forth between Rosenthal and the others. She then focused her attention on Rook.

"I thought the police determined that a wild animal was responsible for what happened at the Wilhelm Farm yesterday," Rook said.

"Regardless, Rook, please try to contact the Diamond Bay police again. Ask them if they need assistance and find out what was going on last night," Hargrove said firmly. "Yes, Lieutenant. Right away," Rook said with a brief salute before turning around and exiting the cafeteria.

"Dent, I want you to join him after you get something to eat," Hargrove then said to the 2nd Lieutenant as he grabbed a plate of scrambled eggs from the food dispenser. "Can I eat first, or do I take the food with me?" he asked her. "Eat whatever's messy in here, and then carry whatever else with you. Don't waste time," she ordered sternly.

Dent knew the tone of voice she was using quite well, so he made no effort to argue with her.

* * *

"Come in, Police Station One. Please respond, over," Rook requested over the headset he had patched in to the communication system. "I say again, Station One please respond, over," Rook requested again. There was only static on the line, as there had been the previous night and earlier that morning.

The door to the room soon slid open and Dent walked in. "What've you learned so far?" Dent asked Rook. Rook simply shook his head with a sigh. "Nothing. I've made no contact with anyone over there. Either they're deliberately refusing to respond, or there's no one home," Rook said.

Dent opened his mouth to speak, when he was interrupted by a beep. Rook returned his attention to the communication console. " _H-Hello? Army Base A-zero-zero-zero-one?_ " asked a nervous male voice over the line.

"This is Technical Officer Michael Rook of United States Colonial Army Base A-Zero-Zero-Zero-One. Who am I speaking to?" Rook asked.

" _This is detective Ben Hauer. We have sustained numerous casualties and are in desperate need of both military and medical assistance,_ " a hushed and desperate voice urged over the headset. Rook blinked in surprise and concern.

"Detective, where are you located right now?" Rook asked him.

" _I'm inside Station One. Or at least what's left of it. The roof is still intact, and so is the landing pad on it, as far as I'm aware. Please, just send someone here to help us,_ " Detective Hauer pleaded over the radio.

"Okay, Detective, there should be a small contingent of Colonial Marines stationed inside the city. What is their status?" Rook asked the man calmly. The response he got was the exact opposite of his own tone.

" _I don't know! I don't fucking know. I saw three of them get taken by those things earlier! What the hell are these things!?_ " Hauer asked himself frantically.

"Okay, Detective, I need you to take a deep breath and try to remain calm. Please try to describe your current situation so that we can send the appropriate response team to your location," Rook said. Dent raised an eyebrow.

"Rook, you haven't been given permission-" "Something is _wrong_ over there, Lieutenant. We need to send help to these people," Rook said sharply, cutting off Dent's statement.

Dent knew that Rook's programming was such that ensuring the safety of others was a higher priority than adhering to the subordinate/superior command chain. The Asimov Protocols that nearly all synthetics had hardwired into them made sure of this. Granted, there had been almost no occasions prior to today when Rook's programming had caused conflicts with the subordinate/superior command chain, but Dent had read up on the subject shortly after meeting Rook for the first time and discovering his android nature.

Deciding to let Rook continue without protest, Dent merely stayed quiet as he slowly ate an apple that he had retrieved from the produce cabinet in the cafeteria.

" _The situation is... civilians and security forces are scattered. We... um, we... I locked myself in a storage closet and fell asleep at some point after the fighting, but... we were attacked last night. There were these... animals, or whatever they were. There were so many of them. They just... they overwhelmed us. We killed maybe one or two with sustained fire, but they just kept coming,_ " Hauer relayed.

"How many officers are currently accounted for at Station One?" Rook asked the man.

" _I... I don't know. I helped Sergeant Banks secure the roof earlier, along with Watters. And Brown, he-oh god, Brown. I... I don't know who else is left. We had a SWAT team sent to the hospital when the attack happened. Look, we need military firepower over here. The things disappeared after the sun started rising, but I don't know how long they'll stay away. Please, just send someone over here!_ " Hauer begged.

Rook glanced at Dent. "Detective... we're going to send someone over there soon. Just find a hole and stay there. We'll come to you," Rook said reassuringly.

Dent nodded his head and walked over to the comm panel on the wall. "Attention, would all senior staff, squad leaders, and dropship pilots please report to the Administrative Conference Room? Thank you," Dent said over the intercom. "Rook, I hope you had that recorded. Try to get as much info as you can and then get your ass to the conference room. Today is gonna be a long day," Dent said with a sigh.

* * *

 **THE ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM, 09:00 HOURS...**

Sitting around a large table the base's staff were divided into sections, Rosenthal, Hargrove, Dent, Williams, Jonas, and Rook made up the senior administrative staff. Lieutenant Bing Lewdanksi, Sergeant Bill Sanders, Warrant Officer Lisa Newark, and Corporal Hank Parker made up the transportation section, being the base's primary dropship pilots, while Jonas and Rook both sat next to each other and between the pilots and the other staff, being that they were both also qualified pilots. Sitting alongside them were the six squad leaders of A Company, including Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg of Wolf Squad, Sergeant James O'Malley of Hornet Squad, Sergeant Julio Estevez of Eagle Squad, Corporal Tiffany Mills of Bear Squad, Sergeant Brent Halvorson of Cougar Squad, and Sergeant Thomas King of Python Squad. Every high ranking member of the base's staff was present and accounted for.

In front of everyone was a projector that was showing a map of Diamond Bay City. Standing up, Captain Rosenthal cleared his throat. "I take it everyone here has had ample time to read the transcript?" he asked as he looked around the conference table.

"What do we do?" Sergeant Kellogg asked with concern.

"We'll send in three squads to the city," Rosenthal said. "One squad will hang back near the outskirts while the other two are deposited into the main sector. I want Wolf, Hornet, and Bear squads to go in. Bear Squad will hang back and provide additional support if needed, while Wolf and Hornet squads will go in and secure the Diamond Bay Primary Hospital and police station number one," Rosenthal said as he used a plastic pointer to point at the highlighted locations on the map.

Corporal Mills raised her hand. "Yes, Corporal?" Rosenthal asked her curtly. Mills cleared her throat to begin. "Captain, how exactly will we be arriving in the city?" she asked him.

Rosenthal glanced over at the pilots before looking back at Mills. "You'll be arriving via dropship," Rosenthal said. A thoughtful expression overcame the corporal's face. "That would take up all of our dropship pilots, Captain. Shouldn't there be at least one crew staying behind at the base in case something goes wrong?" Mills asked him.

"We have seven dropships," Rosenthal stated. "Yes, but we only have enough qualified personnel to pilot _three_ of them, and only four of those personnel are officially assigned pilots," Mills pointed out. Rosenthal furrowed his brows at her.

"I understand your concern, Corporal, but it has been made quite clear that we are not dealing with an armed adversary. The city of Diamond Bay was attacked last night by a large group of unknown animals. The status of the Colonial Marine compliment is unknown, and police forces are reportedly scattered and in disarray throughout the city, and civilian lives are in jeopardy," he stated firmly. "We need to have as many personnel over there as we can without leaving the base defenseless. Besides, the personnel carriers have enough fuel that they can make the journey back here to the base even without aerial transportation," he added.

Soon, Sergeant Kellogg raised his hand. "Yes, Sergeant?" Rosenthal asked the middle-aged soldier. Rosenthal noticed that Kellogg's facial hair was started to approach the limits set by regulations. He mentally told himself to remind Kellogg to shave later.

"Captain, is there a chance that the animals which attacked last night are in some way related to the face... things?" Kellogg asked him.

"Unknown," Rosenthal said in response.

Another hand was raised, this time coming from Sergeant O'Malley. "Yes, Sergeant?" Rosenthal asked the man. "Captain, is this a bug hunt? I mean, in the sense that we know very little about these animals that reportedly attacked the city?" O'Malley asked carefully.

"Look, our primary objective is to investigate this reported attack and gather more information. The more personnel we have over there, the faster this will go," Rosenthal said before looking at his wrist watch. "It's currently oh-nine-thirty. I want all dropships fueled and prepped for take-off before twelve hundred hours. I want all assigned personnel to be prepped with transcripts of this radio call, and I want all squads armed and outfitted appropriately for urban contact," Rosenthal said firmly as he looked over the room.

"Take armor-piercing ammunition if you deem it appropriate, but I would advise that your squads use standard ammunition unless prompted by a change in circumstances. Remember, they're not looking for armed combatants, but an unknown animal threat. We know almost nothing about these things. Report back and record all information you can find regarding these animals, and do not engage unless there are no other options," Rosenthal said.

"Captain," Sergeant Kellogg asked again, "is this a combat operation?"

"Until further notice, yes. It is a combat operation without armed human targets," Rosenthal replied firmly. Sergeant O'Malley chuckled. "So it _is_ a bug hunt. I _knew it_ ," he said wryly.

Rosenthal frowned at the sergeant. "Wolf Squad will use APC number five and load up into dropship number one. Hornet Squad will use APC number three and load up into dropship number two," Rosenthal said firmly. "Warrant Officer Jonas will pilot dropship number three, with Technical Officer Rook accompanying him as they transport APC number four carrying Bear Squad," he said.

"Sergeants Kellogg and O'Malley, head out and get your squads ready. Corporal Mills, the same with you. I want everyone prepped and ready to go at oh-twelve-hundred hours. Have your squads finished their assigned tasks by eleven hundred hours, and then begin suiting up in the lockers and the armory. Sergeants Estevez, King, and Halvorson, I want your squads to assist in the preparations of the dropships and the personnel carriers. If any soldiers are leftover, have them help the assigned squads with their gear. Lieutenant Dent will be going along as primary mission control. Dismissed," Rosenthal said curtly.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, 11:00 HOURS**

Inside the locker rooms, over thirty-seven soldiers began preparing for their upcoming mission, grabbing boots, swapping out their standard outfits for urban camouflaged fatigues and armor as part of their Colonial Battle Dress Uniform. The fatigues for the personnel in A-Company came in urban or woodland camouflage, with dark green, grey, brown, and/or urban and woodland camo body armor to go over it. The armor consisted of sections that covered the torso and backs, with elbow, knee, and shin guards.

The armor also had each soldier's name, rank, and blood type printed on tags in the upper corners, both front and back. Some of the soldiers had opted to put personal items on their armor, such as heart stickers, crude stencil drawings, and even phrases or statements that they felt suited them. Sasha Harrison's combat armor, for instance, had the words ' _KISS HERE_ ' with an arrow point downward printed on the back _and_ the front, although the front statement replaced _KISS_ with _LICK_ , in addition to a smiley face, while there was a stenciled heart next to the back statement.

In addition to the body armor and fatigues were the steel-toed combat boots, black as night and outfitted for modular shin protection if shin guards were not otherwise available or were damaged. The boots also had extra straps on the sides for combat knives. In addition to this, the boots had room for inserted gel packs to prevent fatigue in the field, although these were Colonial issue only, and were not found back on Earth.

The soldiers' helmets were also camoflaughed, with adjustable visors that connected to a tiny electronics suite hidden within the helmet itself, surrounded by multiple layers of thin but curable material that could withstand a cement block falling on it. The visor provided night vision, infrared vision, and various mission information that could be accessed by pressing a small button located up near the hinges of the visor itself.

"Alright, remember, urban environment," Sergeant Kellogg said out loud as he watched his squad suit up. "Fernandez, check that back plating. It looks loose," Kellogg pointed out.

"I haven't secured it yet," Fernandez responded.

"Well _get it_ secured," Kellogg snapped at him.

Strapping on her boots nice and tight, Sasha Harrison grabbed her helmet and secured it with chin straps before grabbing her sidearm and holstering it. She would grab an extra magazine for it in the armory soon. Next to her, Donovan Quail had already finished suiting up, with his back facing her, showing off the drawing of a middle finger on his armor.

Sergeant Kellogg's armor, already secured prior to anyone else's, was barren and blank.

Rosario's armor had the words ' _HEART BREAKER_ ' stenciled on the back, next to a drawing of a cartoon heart split in half.

As the squad continued gearing up, Kellogg glanced up at a digital clock on the wall, constantly checking their time.

 **ARMORY-A, 11:30 HOURS...**

As the time drew closer to for the three squads to depart, a form of organized chaos consumed Armory A as all three assigned squads entered the large room filled with guns, knives, and other weapons designed for the sole purpose of killing. The Armory had shelves with weapons held in them running the length of both walls perpendicular to the doors used to enter the room, along with two columns of three gun rack islands each running the middle the of the room, creating three aisles through which personnel would maneuver.

Wolf Squad quickly entered the armory, dividing itself up into established fire teams, with each soldier grabbing their preferred weapon, along with extra ammunition and spare sidearms. Corporal Sasha Harrison, the leader of Fire Team Bravo, fully decked out in her combat fatigues, armor, with protective goggles on her face and fingerless gloves on her hands, grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle, the newest successor to the beloved M41A1 pulse rifle. The weapon had a smaller magazine than the M41A1, carrying only 62 rounds maximum in its highest capacity magazine, and 32 rounds in a standard magazine. However, it had a slightly longer barrel for greater accuracy, and it sported a more modular design for its under-barrel attachment section, allowing more accessories than the M41A1. The gun also came in brown, green, or gray finish.

In addition to her personal sidearm, Harrison also grabbed a utility vest with additional ammo and gear pouches, stowing away two spare magazines and another M43A sidearm, along with two magazines holding armor-piercing rounds.

Behind Harrison, Specialist Donovan Quail grabbed an M16A12 assault rifle, one of the latest members of the M4 weapon family, a descendant of the AR-15. It was his preferred weapon, and he was very accurate with it, being able to hit targets from a mile away using its semi-automatic fire mode. The weapon was a select-mode weapon, capable of single shot, burst fire, and full automatic, although the full auto mode ate up ammo in seconds, so most users stuck with either burst fire or the semi-automatic single shot mode. Quail was, however, also the team smartgunner, which meant that his beloved assault rifle would have to be stowed away somewhere while he grabbed the M56A2 smartgun, quickly attaching the maneuvering arm to his harness. "I hate this damn thing," Quail muttered in contempt, as while he also excelled in using the smartgun, he hated the fact that such a large weapon made him an obvious target.

Behind Quail, Private Tom Gross grabbed an M16A12 as well, since he was a rifleman for the Fire Team Bravo. Behind Gross, Private Ethan Fernandez, the team's grenadier, grabbed a shotgun and an M39A SMG, along with a combat harness with several pouches for his explosives.

Moving up ahead, Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle, along with a spare field-ready med-kit, being that he was a qualified medical officer in addition to being Squad Leader, as well as team leader for Fire Team Alpha. Behind Kellogg, Specialist Calvin Gorch grabbed a smartgun and accompanying harness, with two spare magazines and an M39A SMG as a backup weapon. Next to Gorch, Private First Class Marlon Warner grabbed an M42C scoped rifle.

The M42C was similar to the M16A12, in that it could be used for medium and long range combat, but it was a semi-automatic weapon, and it primarily used fullmetal jacket armor piercing rounds. In spite of the power that the weapon yielded, though, most personnel avoided it, mainly due to its low rate of fire. Upon learning that they would most likely be facing off against unarmed non-human combatants, however, Warner grinned at the opportunity to use his favorite gun.

Nearby, Private Sid Jenkins grabbed an M92 grenade launcher, until Sergeant Kellogg gave him a 'no go' gesture. "Uh-uh. High-density civilian population. We aren't going in there to destroy anything," Kellogg said curtly. Jenkins nodded his head and instead grabbed an M46B tactical shotgun.

Ahead of the others, Fire Team Charlie, led by Specialist Jose Rosario, had already grabbed their designated weapons for their roles in the fire team. Rosario had initially grabbed an M71A3 sniper rifle, along with an M39A SMG as a backup for close encounters. The M71A3 sniper rifle, also known as the M71A3 Anti-Material Rifle, was an Army-specific sniper rifle. However, remembering that they would likely be in close quarters, Rosario had then opted for an M16A12 with a mounted scope instead, which still gave him plenty of range. Next to Rosario, Private Robert "Bobby" Stewart grabbed a smartgun and attached to to the arm on his harness. "Hey, Sarge! How much trouble are we expecting again?" Stewart asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Unknown. But don't open fire unless you can confirm the identity of your target or you have no other options. Remember, this is an urban center! Lots of civilians, so keep your fingers off the damn triggers until I give the okay! That goes for _you_ especially, Warner!" Kellogg shouted in response.

"That was an _accident_ , Sarge! It happened _one time!_ _And_ it was over _two years ago!_ " Warner cried out in response.

"Yeah, and if it happens again while we're around _civilians_ , I'll bust you back down to the rank of recruit _and_ give you _toilet cleaning duty_ for a _month!_ " Kellogg snapped with a growl. "And remember, no flame units either!" he then added quickly.

Meanwhile, Privates Kyle Anderson and Deidre Miller were both arming themselves appropriately with an M16A12 assault rifle and an M37A2 pump action shotgun, respectively. Anderson was the team's secondary rifleman, while Miller functioned as both grenadier and spotter for Rosario. Both soldiers had made sure to grab at least two spare magazines for their weapons before meeting up with Rosario outside the main armory.

Meanwhile, as Wolf Squad finished up and exited the army, Hornet Squad made its way in through the other door of the armory. Hornet Squad was unique in that it was the only squad with more than twelve soldiers. Led by Sergeant James O'Malley, Hornet Squad quickly divided itself up into its fire teams and grabbed their appropriate arms.

"Specialist Franklin, you'll be driving the APC!" O'Malley called out to Specialist Tabitha Franklin as he grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle from the rack. Specialist Franklin would be serving as Mission Control from the inside of the APC for Hornet Squad, although she still armed herself with an M39A SMG and a second VP70M service pistol. Moving up ahead, Private Joseph Cameron grabbed an M56A2 smartgun and hooked it up to his harness before making his way out of the armory.

Following behind Cameron, privates Rupert Scott and Barry Cox grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle and an M46B tactical shotgun, respectively, rounding out Fire Team Delta. Moving alongside them, Fire Team Echo grabbed their weapons as well. Specialist Ryan Miller grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle and two spare magazines, while Private Roseanne Christian acquired her smartgun and spare ammo container.

Finishing up Fire Team Echo, privates Rhonda Simmons and Dirk Applegate both grabbed M41B1 pulse rifles with underslung grenade launchers.

The last fire team of Hornet Squad, Fire Team Falcon, followed closely behind their peers as they grabbed their weapons and ammo. Corporal Elizabeth Trudeau grabbed an M16A12 assault rifle and three spare magazines. Beside her, Private Timothy Andersmith grabbed his smartgun and a spare ammo container, along with an M39A SMG as a backup.

Following Andersmith, Private Selina Kenner grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle and two spare magazines. Behind her, Private Frank Shaw grabbed an M16A12 with an attached underbarrel shotgun. "Lock and load," Kenner whispered to herself as she made sure that her pulse rifle was loaded properly.

Soon, the final squad arrived as Hornet Squad and Wolf Squad finished arming themselves in the armory. "Come on, guys, make way for the bears!" Corporal John Muldoon of Eagle Squad said as he ushered several soldiers out of the armory. Muldoon and his squad's leader, Sergeant Estevez, had both volunteered to help the other three squads prepare for their mission. Well, Estevez had volunteered, with Muldoon having been ordered to accompany him.

As the soldiers moved out, Bear Squad made their way into the armory, quickly splitting up into fire teams. Fire Team Gamma, comprised of Corporal Tiffany Mills, Private First Class Clive Deckard, Private Simon Andrews, and Private First Class Patrick Stacker, quickly gathered the weaponry appropriate for their roles. Mills took an M16A12 assault rifle, Deckard grabbed the smartgun, Andrews grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle, and Stacker made due with a Remington 870 shotgun and an M39A SMG.

Following closely behind Fire Team Gamma, Fire Team Harpoon (they had been assigned the name without consent) began arming themselves. Fire Team leader Specialist Kyra Ferguson grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle and two spare magazines. Private First Class Andrew Jonah quickly grabbed a smartgun and attached it to the articulated arm on his harness. Private First Class Jiro Sekizawa grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle and two spare magazines. Lastly, Private Natasha Smith grabbed an M46B tactical shotgun.

The last fire team, Fire Team India, moved in. Specialist Helen Mendez quickly grabbed an M41B1 pulse rifle and two spare magazines. Next to her, Private First Class Vernon Doyle acquired his smartgun. Nearby, privates Daniel Lebowitz and Lauren Goodman armed themselves with an M42C scoped rifle and an M41B1 pulse rifle, respectively.

As soon as they were finished, Sergeant Julio Estevez looked up at the large digital clock on the wall, reading 11:51. "Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever!?" Estevez shouted at the soldiers as they jogged past him with their weapons. Every soldier was geared up in their combat uniforms with underlying fatigues and boots. They all had combat knives attached to their hips or their boots, and their sidearms were holstered securely for easy access.

All smartgunners had their M56 combat harnesses and helmet mounted sights properly secured in place. Helmets were fastened properly, goggles hung from necks, and communication headsets were in place. Resting by straps on their shoulders, half of the soldiers also carried an M315 motion tracker, with two trackers per fire team. The soldiers of the United States Colonial Army were armed to the teeth and ready for action.

"All right, move out! Get to the hangars and into your assigned APCs! Last team to enter their vehicles gets cleanup duty in the cafeteria tonight!" Sergeant O'Malley shouted at the troops as he led them over to the vehicle bay where three already fueled and loaded M79W armored personnel carriers were waiting. "I want us in those dropships by twelve hundred!" O'Malley shouted as the troops jogged over to the open doors of the vehicles and got inside.

Standing by, Sergeant Estevez and Corporal Muldoon looked on. " _There they go! There they go again!_ " Muldoon sang as the three squads of soldiers disappeared inside the armored vehicles before the doors closed.

Estevez glanced over at Muldoon with a glare. "Corporal? Please, never do that around me again," Estevez requested sternly. Muldoon nodded his head silently in response.

Meanwhile, inside the APCs, the soldiers strapped themselves into their seats and stowed their weapons in appropriate holdings. Sitting in the front of each vehicle and manning the controls were the leaders of the soldiers' respective squads, except for Hornet Squad. Specialist Franklin was the one driving the vehicle for her squad as it made its way over and up onto the ramp of the Cheyenne dropship in an open field area.

Listening to the faint sounds of the loading ramps closing, and feeling the gravity as the vehicles were adjusted, Sergeant Kellogg looked at his watch. "Twelve-oh-one. Damn, one minute late," he muttered to himself. Looking back over his shoulder and through the passageway of the APC's small control cabin at the seating area for the troops, Kellogg allowed himself a chance to relax as he heard the voice of Lieutenant Lewdanski, chief pilot of the Grass Cutter, as Dropship #01 was affectionately nicknamed.

" _Alright, boys and girls. This is your captain speaking. Please keep all limbs inside the vehicle while we are in motion, or I will open the loading bay ramp out of spite_ ," Lewdanski said over the headset. Kellogg could practically see the grin on Lewdanksi's face as he head the man's words and joking tone.

Kellogg glanced back at the passengers of his APC. Along with his squad, 2nd Lieutenant Dent was sitting by the mission control alcove, looking over the screens that displayed video feed and health readouts for the individual troops. "Everybody got their seats secured?" Kellogg called out. "Yes sir!" all of his soldiers called out unanimously, along with Dent.

" _Hey, is anybody up for some music while we fly?_ " Lewdanski's voice asked over Kellogg's headset. "Hold on," Kellogg said into the headset before looking back at his squad. "Hey! Who wants some music for the trip!?" Kellogg called out. A round of cheers erupted from his subordinates in response.

"Uh, affirmative. Music would be appreciated," Kellogg said as he started prepping the APC's comm system to link up with that of the dropship.

" _You got it. Want something old and fun?_ " Lewdanski asked him. "What've you got?" Kellogg asked him in response. Lewdanski began running him through a list of various songs that he had with him, both in the dropship's internal computer and also on a couple of CD's he had stashed around the seats as well.

Meanwhile, in the back of the APC, nine of the twelve sitting soldiers were all grinning and talking to one another, with the exceptions being Harrison and Quail, who had both decided to take a power nap. Dent had already fallen asleep before any of them, and no one really cared to wake him up either. "Hey, check it out," Fernandez said as he rapped his knuckles against Gross's armor. "Aw, Mom and Dad are sleeping," Gross said with a snicker.

Then, out of the blue, the speakers came on.

" _Gonna tell Aunt Mary 'bout Uncle John! He claims he has the misery but he has a lot of fun! Oh baby! Ye~es baby! Oohh baby, havin' me some fun tonight! Yeah!_ "

"What the fuck is _this!?_ " Specialist Gorch asked incredulously.

"This is Little Richard!" Kellogg shouted back at his subordinates.

" _Well, Long Tall Sally, she's built for speed! She got everything that Uncle John need!_ "

"Aw, come on Sarge! This is stuff is old!" Jenkins called out in disappointment. "Yeah! Play something newer!" Warner called out.

" _Oh baby! Ye~es baby! Oohh baby, havin' me some fun tonight! Yeah!_ "

"I'm already starting to _feel_ older just listening to this," Anderson muttered. Miller and Rosario both nodded their heads in agreement with him, while Stewart silently bobbed his head up and down to the music, clearly enjoying himself. "Havin' me some fun tonight," Stewart sang quietly to himself. His fellow soldiers noticed this and glared at him in disapproval and shame.

Meanwhile, the three dropships continued on their path to the city of Diamond Bay, the troops inside only having the faintest idea of just what they were about to encounter when they finally reached their destination.

* * *

Author's Notes: This was chapter four of ALIENS: EPIDEMIC. Chapter 06 is when the roller coaster finally picks up speed, as the soldiers investigate the city of Diamond Bay and finally have their first encounter with the xenomorphs.

As you may have noticed, the song Long Tall Sally was also heard in Predator (1987). Also, as you've probably noticed, I'm not having the characters use the same weaponry as the Marines from ALIENS (1986). That's because the Colonial Army has different weaponry from the Marine Corps, although some pieces of equipment are still the same. Both branches have their own specific versions of various weapons and equipment, although the Cheyenne dropship, M56A2 smartgun, and VP70M pistol are all still the same as the ones from ALIENS.

Another thing you may have noticed is that both the Marines and Army soldiers in this story have displayed far more discipline than most of the Marines from ALIENS. Well, in ALIENS, especially the novelization and background material, it's made clear that not only were strings being pulled to get particular personnel assigned to the LV-426 deployment, but the Marines themselves were not exactly the best of the best either, aside from Hicks, Dietrich, Frost, and Apone, at least. Those four showed basic discipline and respect for protocol, although NONE of them, aside from Apone, had proper TRIGGER DISCIPLINE! Wierzbowski and Crowe had almost no dialogue, so it's impossible to tell how disciplined they were, and Spunkmeyer and Ferro were pilots who only showed up in a handful of scenes. I'm not even going to start on Hudson, Drake, and Vasquez, although background material makes it clear that Drake and Vasquez had both been incarcerated for murder had decided to serve in the Corps to avoid future detention time as part of the Service Or Jail Act.

Now, the main reason for all of this was that James Cameron made the film as an allegory for Vietnam, which he has admitted to in interviews. A lot of troops who served in Vietnam were a result of the draft, and had no desire to be where they were, and this was the basis for the behavior displayed by the Marines in ALIENS.

This story, on the other hand, is not an allegory for any particular war. As such, the Colonial Army soldiers are disciplined, trained, and... well, they'll still fuck up from time to time, and they'll _still_ get their asses handed to them by the xenomorphs in their first encounter. It _is_ an ALIEN story, after all, and unlike the Marines from ALIENS, these soldiers don't have an advisor in the form of Ellen Ripley or a report to look over regarding their foes. For these guys, this is going to be _first contact_. If I made these soldiers indestructible and super knowledgeable about the aliens, this story would be over by the next chapter, and I plan on having several more chapters before it reaches a conclusion.

So, as always, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or the story so far in your reviews!


	5. DIAMOND BAY

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

Warning: This chapter is quite long.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 05: DIAMOND BAY  
**

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2183**

Flying in standard formation, three UD-4L Cheyenne dropships made their way towards the city of Diamond Bay. The light of the local star reflected off of the cockpit canopies of the vessels, while the pilots within were unaffected thanks to special coatings on the canopies' surfaces. The large grey-colored vehicles soared above the hills and plains below as they approached the outskirts of the city, passing over the Mag-Lev train rail that extended out from the interior of the city and passed over the plains as it forged ahead to the mountains.

On the side of Dropship #01 was a decal showing blades of grass being severed, appropriate for its nickname of Grass Cutter. Dropship #02 had a decal of a leaf being clipped, referring to its nickname of Leaf Clipper. Dropship #03 had a decal of a bolt of lightning on it. Its nickname was Thunder Wing, although since it was never used, very few personnel were actually aware of the nickname anyway.

Inside the cockpit of Grass Cutter, Lieutenant Bing Lewdanski looked at the instrument panel in front of him. "Okay, we're getting close," he said to his crew chief, Sergeant Bill Sanders. "Affirmative, we're not getting any beacons, though. No radio chatter either," Sanders said as he checked his instruments.

"What about the space elevator? Are the telemetry beacons still active for that?" Lewdanski asked with concern. "Checking," Sanders said. "Yeah. Those are still kicking," Sanders reported.

"Access the bottom cameras. See what ground traffic looks like," Lewdanski said as they got closer to the city proper In the center of the city, he could see the space elevator rising up, towering above the other buildings and structures as its length ascended into the sky, eventually breaching the atmosphere and ending in a connection to an orbital station.

On a screen facing Sanders, the dropship's computer showed him the camera footage of the streets and houses below. "There's almost no movement down there. Almost... I've got a few civilians roaming around, but not much else," Sanders reported.

Lewdanski nodded his head and checked in with the other pilots. "You guys seeing anything below your birds?" Lewdanski asked over his headset. " _Nothing of note. A few cars improperly parked in a vehicle lot, but nothing else. There's a dog running behind one housing unit, but no signs of activity other-hold on... I've got some civilians. I think they're looking at us_ ," Corporal Hank Parker reported from the Leaf Clipper.

"Alright. Thunder Wind, what about you?" Lewdanski asked over his headset as he changed the channel. " _We've got signs of civilian activity in various locations, but no vehicle traffic to be seen. Odd_ ," Rook reported from the third dropship.

"Well, it _is_ midday. If work wasn't put off, then that's where people are probably at right now," Lewdanski said in response. "Okay, I'm switching back to standard channel communications for now. Everyone do a fly-over of the city, standard formation," Lewdanski said into his headset. "Hey, Kellogg, we're doing a fly-over before we land. We're sending the video feed to the APC," Lewdanski said.

" _Understood. Kellogg out_ ," Kellogg said over the headset. Lewdanski began slowing the dropship's speed, checking the synchronization meter for the other dropships in turn. "Stead she goes. Steady she goes," he said to himself quietly.

 **MEANWHILE, IN THE APC...**

Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg looked at the camera footage on a monitor in front of him. He had quickly moved from the driver's cabin of the APC back to the mission control alcove, standing in front of a series of screens and health readouts for himself and his squad while Lieutenant Dent continued sleeping in his chair. "Okay, let's look at the diamond in the rough," he said to himself as the dropship began flying over the city.

The streets of Diamond Bay showed no signs of life, but there were signs that something had occurred recently. A delivery van had crashed into the front of a store, while a small car had been flipped onto its side nearby, the front grill being smashed inward. Smoke rose from burning embers around a burnt vehicle further up the street.

A police cruiser could be seen parked near a street light. The driver side door was hanging open, while the front passenger door was ripped off and lying on the sidewalk. Two small objects could be made out near the vehicle. The dropship was too high in the sky for a more detailed look.

Up ahead, near an intersection, what resembled barricades covering the doors and windows of various buildings could be seen. Again, the dropships were too high in the air for a more detailed look, but Kellogg could tell that something ominous had occurred recently. Even further up in the street, an ambulance could be seen lying on its side, the front grill and windshield having been damaged and the front left tire destroyed.

"What the hell happened here?" Kellogg asked himself in a whisper as he looked at the footage, before he noticed Dent's snoring. Annoyed by the fact that the man was still sleeping, Kellogg put a gloved hand on the lieutenant's left shoulder and jostled him awake.

"Huh? What?" Dent asked with a yawn as he blinked the cobwebs of sleep out of his eyes. "Hey, sleeping beauty, time for work," Kellogg said to him sternly before pointing at the footage of the city below them. Dent looked at the footage and took it in with a sense of unease.

As the dropships continued their slow circle of the city, more carnage could be seen on the streets below. Looking at the buildings around them, Kellogg and Dent noticed that the windows appeared to be open, but they couldn't tell if anyone was inside. The city almost seemed abandoned, but the presence of civilians in the outskirts proved otherwise.

There was one intersection where abandoned vehicles had clogged the roads. Doors were open, and the various cars and trucks and vans were backed up all the way to the next city block. The passengers of the vehicles had left them in a hurry.

"Lewdanksi, this is Dent," Dent said into his headset. "Is it at all possible to fly lower and slower?" Dent asked carefully. " _Uh... sure, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you want me to put us down soon. I think we should finish our sweep before going lower_ ," the dropship pilot responded.

"Understood. Finish this sweep and then prepare for a second one at a lower altitude," Dent said into the headset. Kellogg looked at him with uncertainty. Seeing the man's expression, Dent frowned. "I want better visuals on what's going on down there," he explained quickly.

* * *

As the dropships passed over the roof tops of the city, they slowly went around to the port-side area, facing the bay. A line of vehicles blocking alleyways between buildings leading out to the port-side docks could be seen, along with a few water-faring vessels next to the docks. Small handfuls of civilians were huddled around various vehicles, such as forklifts and power loaders.

Soon, the dropships moved on from this part of the city, heading back inward, moving up north and eventually circling around the northern outskirts. The three flying vehicles slowly lowered their altitude as they neared the Diamond Bay Grand Shopping Center, or the mall as the denizens of the city commonly referred to it. The parking lot had its share of vehicles filling up spots, but there were no people to be seen walking around.

There were no cars pulling in or pulling out. Some of the vehicles still had their doors open, and one car had apparently rammed into a light pole. An arm could be seen hanging out of the vehicle's open driver side window.

The eerie scene of destruction and abandonment clashed strongly with the idyllic blue skies and visible sun above.

" _This is Lieutenant Dent. I want Bear Squad deployed shortly around this area. Wolf and Hornet squads will continue onward for a second flyby inside the city again. Bear Squad, secure the perimeter and wait for further instructions. Jonas, Rook, find a place to let Bear Squad out. Over_ ," Dent said over his own headset.

Dropship #03, Thunder Wing, soon broke off from the group and began circling the are around the mall, searching for a place to put down.

Meanwhile, the other two dropships continued onward, slowly re-entering the city at a lower altitude, once again surveying the destruction below.

* * *

 **FORTY MINUTES LATER...**

Grass Cutter and Leaf Clipper both began slowing down as they neared the streets below. Both dropships kept a steady distance apart from each other as they descended upon an empty street, one that was near Police Station #01. The underbellies of the vehicles soon began to open up, lowering their ramps to let the personnel carriers inside began moving as soon as their landing gear hit the ground.

" _Five... four... three... two... one... touch down! Hit the pavement running!_ " Lewdanksi quipped over his headset as the APCs disembarked from the dropships, rolling onto the pavement. The large and bulky vehicles, armed with state-of-the-art defenses, quickly drove through the streets as the two dropships pulled back up into the air and closed their ramps. The mighty vehicles soon flew away, searching for a safe location to put down until further notice.

Inside the lead APC, Sergeant Kellogg drove the vehicle through the deserted streets of Diamond Bay, checking the vehicle's map screen and GPS as he brought his team closer to the police station. "Just another few buildings," he muttered to himself as he heard Lieutenant Dent asking some of his squad to check their helmet cameras.

Rolling slowly through the streets, the two armored vehicles soon reached an intersection on A-Block. A-Block was a huge section of the city, containing the first police station, the primary hospital, the fire department, and the temporary security station where the Colonial Marines stayed, along with several dozen stores and housing units for the hospital's various staff located in between on each street. In alleyways between the tallest buildings were insulated coverings on the sides of the buildings to absorb any sound caused by the Mag-Lev train as one of its rails passed through the bloc.

Eventually, the APCs came to a slow stop near the large outside parking lot of the police station, where a garden area outside greeted visitors, along with a separate driving path for police officers that led to another parking lot solely for police vehicles, which also fed into a parking garage under the station. Inside the first APC, Kellogg noticed something from the windshield and the APC's own camera system. There was a large truck that had plowed into the station, resting on its side.

Kellogg soon put the vehicle in park, quickly calling over his headset for the other APC to do the same. "Dent, are you seeing this?" Kellogg asked as he craned his neck to look over his shoulder. "Do you mean from the APC's cameras or yours?" Dent asked him. "Do you see the lobby of the police station?" Kellogg asked him.

"I see it. I want your squad in standard formation," Dent said as he glanced over at the other soldiers. Harrison and Quail were both awake now. "Okay, boys and girls, saddle up! I want you to collect your gear and get out of this APC in three minutes! Move, double time!" Dent barked authoritatively.

The soldiers quickly gathered and retrieved their weapons as Kellogg returned to the main area and unlocked the APC's main door, opening it. Unlike the previous M77 model, the M79 APC had much greater headroom and a longer body. It also came in two varieties: the M79W, which had wheels, and the M79T, which had treads. The body of the M79T was also constructed differently from the M79W in order to accommodate said treads. It also had six wheels for the treads instead of only four, as found on the M79W and the older M77 models.

As soon as the door opened, the soldiers poured out in their fire team formations, with Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie all splitting up and providing flanking positions for one another as they methodically advanced towards the entrance of the police station. " _Fire Team Bravo, you're up first_ ," Dent said over their headsets. Harrison raised a hand and motioned for her team to move forward, quickly following along with them, while Kellogg held a fist in the air to stay the others.

" _Hornet Squad, please remain in your vehicle until Wolf Squad has fully entered the building. You'll be their backup,_ " Dent could be heard saying over the squads' headsets. Everyone nodded their heads in confirmation of the orders.

Meanwhile, up ahead, walking past the various palm trees planted in the small islands of dirt spaced far apart from each other in the outdoor lobby and front parking lot, Fire Team Bravo soon made their way into the lobby of the station, carefully stepping around the broken glass on the floor. Harrison silently used hand signals to convey her orders to the team, motioning for Fernandez and Gross to take flanking positions near the overturned semi-truck. Both soldiers moved quickly and quietly... until the sound of metal casings rolling on the floor caught their attention, along with the beeps of their motion trackers.

Looking down at the marbled stone floor of the station, Harrison, Quail, Fernandez, and Gross all became aware of the hundreds of 9mm casings that littered the ground like a movable coating of brass paint. Looking around further, Harrison saw a couple of handguns lying on the ground near a hallway entrance, along with a few drops of blood. Also on the ground were some very small patches of melted floor, stained greenish and yellow near the blackened edges of the burn marks.

"Change our motion tracker settings," Quail said as Harrison began fiddling with her motion tracker. Up ahead, Fernandez and Gross were doing the same thing. Soon, neither tracking device picked up the movements of the hundreds of tiny casings on the ground, unless they all moved together, which would still set the devices off because of the sheer amount of movement as a whole.

As Harrison and Quail slowly moved forward, Fernandez and Gross maneuvered around the fallen truck and the support pillar it had crashed into, keeping their weapons drawn but their fingers off of the triggers. Silently, the two pairs of soldiers pushed through, making their way to the front desk. "There's nothing here," Gross reported to Harrison.

Harrison nodded her head. "This is Fire Team Bravo. The lobby is secure. We're continuing down hallway One-A," Harrison reported over her headset.

" _Understood, Corporal. Alpha and Charlie are moving in behind you. Alpha will take Hallway One-B, and Charlie will stay in the lobby. Kellogg out,_ " Kellogg reported over the headset.

Without looking back beyond the overturned semi-truck, Harrison and her team moved forward down hallway 01-A, slowly checking the open doors of reach room they passed. The first room on their left was meeting room. Aside from the overturned table and strewn about chairs on the floor, it was empty. There were bullet holes in the wall, along with spent casings for 9mm cartridges from handguns.

The first room to their right proved to be much of the same, although this was a briefing room. Desks and chairs were strewn about, papers were on the floor, along with handguns and spent shell casings, although a riot shotgun could be seen in this particular room, along with a busted secondary door in the back of the room. After a quick sweep, it was determined that there were no signs of life in the room, and the team returned to the hallway.

The following room on the left proved to also be devoid of life, although there were several splatters of blood on the floor and walls, along with a copious amount of bullet casings on the floor, with two pistols and an SMG lying on the floor. Still, there were no signs of human life to be found in the station so far. Room by room, Fire Team Bravo swept the hall, finding overturned tables, broken chairs, busted doors, spent shell casings, abandoned and broken guns, and blood-stained floors and walls as a silent but dire report of what happened happened the previous night.

"Shit, we missed the party," Quail quipped as the team swept the final room at the end of the hall, far back into the depths of the station.

"This is Fire Team Bravo reporting. We've found significant signs of firefights and blood, but no bodies, human or otherwise. Didn't Lieutenant Dent say that he and Rook heard from a police officer before we were sent here?" Harrison asked over her headset.

" _Affirmative, Corporal. I'll get in touch and ask Dent what the name of the officer was. Proceed to the second floor with caution. I'll be in touch_ ," Kellogg replied over the headset. "Affirmative, Harrison out," Harrison said before urging her team towards a stairwell.

"There's an elevator right over there," Gross pointed out.

"Negative. Always use stairs in an emergency," Harrison retorted as she and Quail started up the stairs. She glanced down at the two soldiers bringing up the rear. "Keep your eyes peeled and ears open," she ordered quietly.

Upon reaching the landing for the second floor, Harrison raised a fist to signal her team to stop in their tracks. She looked down at the motion tracker, hanging from her left shoulder by a sling, for any signs of movement. Slowly, Harrison cast a glance down the dark hallway to her right, before looking over at the door in front of her.

Glancing at Quail, who was holding his smartgun in a cease-fire posture, Harrison nodded her head. Quail nodded in return, before she let go of her motion tracker and held her pulse rifle with both hands. "Ready?" she asked him. "Yeah," he whispered back.

Harrison quickly stepped into the hallway, with Quail stepping up beside her and turning himself to face the corridor, his smartgun still postured in cease-fire mode, aiming up above him. The weapon was too long to point down at the ground. Fernandez and Gross quickly followed up behind them, checking the corridors with their motion tracker as well.

" _Harrison, this is Kellogg. Lieutenant Dent is getting in touch with the police station now. Listen closely for voices in the halls. Also, stay in the light. Make sure that any officers you encounter can see you, that way they don't shoot at you by mistake. From what I'm seeing down here, any survivors are going to have some itchy trigger fingers,_ " Kellogg said over the headsets.

"Affirmative. We'll do that," Harrison said in response. "Harrison out," she said before motioning for Fernandez and Gross to stay put. She and Quail slowly made their way over to a light switch on the wall. Flipping it, they saw a series of lights come on, illuminating the hallway partially.

And then there was a faint sound in a nearby room. Raising a hand, she motioned for Fernandez and Gross to take point. "Hold positions on either side of the door, but don't enter the room," she said to them. Both soldiers nodded their heads as they neared the door to the right.

When both men were in position, Harrison motioned for Quail to move forward behind her. Carefully creeping up to the door, Harrison reached up to the control panel on the side and cleared her throat. "Ahem. Is anyone in there!?" she asked.

"Hello!? Anyone at all!?" she asked again, listening for anyone to respond. "Are you injured? We're the Colonial Army, A-Company! We heard about the disturbance and we're here to offer assistance!" Harrison called out again, but there was still no response.

Looking down at her motion tracker, she saw a blip of movement. Fernandez looked down at his motion tracker as well before glancing at Harrison. She held out a hand for him to stay put as she pressed the button to open the door. Harrison waited for the door to slide open all the way before pressing her back to wall and slowly tilting her head to look inside.

There was a table pushed up on the inside of the doorway, forming a barricade. Harrison decided to raise her head a little as she began to peer inside the room again. Just as her head was starting to enter the door frame, a click was heard, and Quail quickly reached forward to grab Harrison by the collar and pull her back. "Ack! Quail, what the-" _**BANG!**_

A shot was fired from within the room. Harrison's eyes widened as she looked at the door frame, glancing at Fernandez and Gross, who were both holding their weapons defensively. "It's okay! We're the Army! We're here to he-" BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Stay back! Stay the fuck back!" came a panicked voice from inside. "Find your own hiding place! This is mine!" the male voice shouted. A couple more shots were fired, embedding themselves into the wall opposite of the soldiers.

"Chief Young, Sergeant Danielson, Dern, Filmoore? They're all dead! They're all fucking gone!" the man cried out as he fired two more shots in a blind panic. "You hear me!? They're dead! They took the live ones first, so I played dead, but then they came back! They took the dead ones next, and then they came back again!" the man shouted, his voice cracking into sobs.

"J-Just... Just leave me alone, please! Just let me hide!" he sobbed as he fired one more round into the wall.

The sound of a weapon being emptied soon caught Harrison's attention. "Now!" she snapped at Fernandez and Gross, both of whom, quickly rushed inside the room. "No, get back! Get back!" the man shouted as he was rushed by the two soldiers. "Grab his gun!" Gross shouted, before the sound of metal sliding across the floor was heard.

"No! Nooo! Let me go! Let me gooo!" the man cried out as Harrison and Quail entered the room. Held in the arms of Fernandez and Gross was a police officer with a disheveled uniform, coffee stains visible on his right breast area, and dried sweat all over his face. A badge and name tag identified him as Sergeant Zachary Dawn. He looked as though he hadn't slept at all in the past 24 hours, and his eyes were wide and panicked, constantly glancing back and forth, as well as up and down.

"Sergeant Dawn?" Harrison asked as calmly as she could, considering the man had just tried to shoot her head off a minute earlier. "G-Get away from me, please!" he begged. "Let me have my hiding spot!" he begged tearfully.

"Sergeant, we're the Army. We're here to help," Harrison said firmly. "Bullets can't stop these things! Nothing can!" Dawn retorted frantically.

"Things? What exactly are these _things?_ Sergeant, just what the hell happened here?" Harrison asked him. "M-Monsters. Monsters!" Dawn cried out. "Monsters? What, like Godzilla?" Gross asked him skeptically.

"Dude, Godzilla is a giant radioactive _dinosaur_. I'm pretty sure this whole building would be a pile of rubble if that's what attacked this place," Fernandez quipped, being himself a huge fan of the kaiju genre. "Okay... uh, werewolves?" Gross suggested. "Okay, just stop," Fernandez said, shaking his head at his team mate.

"Sergeant Kellogg, come in. This is Corporal Harrison. We've found a survivor on the second floor. He has been disarmed and is in custody," Harrison said over her headset. " _Understood, Corporal. Just stay put, we're on our way._ "

* * *

"He ain't saying shit anymore," Specialist Gorch said bitterly as Sergeant Dawn curled up into the fetal position on the floor, hiding under a still in-place desk in the corner of the room.

"I told you not to have them let go of him," Harrison said to Kellogg spitefully. "I'm sorry. I thought the man would be more cooperative if he felt freer," Kellogg responded.

"So, what do we do with him?" Quail asked from the doorway. "Let him be," said a tired voice from behind him. "Jesus!" Quail cried out in alarm as he turned to face the newcomer. It was a middle-aged man in plain clothes with a five o'clock shadow on his face, greasy black hair, bags under his tired brown eyes, and a riot shotgun in his hands that was aimed at the floor.

"No, not quite," the man said with a chuckle. "No, I'm Detective Ben Hauer," he explained. "I was trying to catch some Z's earlier, but then you guys spooked Dawn here and I got a bullet time wake up call," Hauer said with a yawn. He was still tired from everything that he and the other surviving officers had been through in the past sixteen hours.

"You're the one who was in contact with Lieutenant Dent earlier?" Kellogg asked. "Yeah. I just... well, I'd kind of hoped you'd have been here a little sooner. I mean, those things haven't come back _here_ since sunrise, but don't think they won't be back eventually," Hauer said, remembering that he'd seen a handful of the creatures crawling on the side of a building nearby just a few hours earlier, carrying more victims off to wherever it was that they came from.

"Detective, just how many officers are left, and what are these things that you keep talking about?" Kellogg asked him in a calm tone with an underline exasperation at lacking details.

"I don't fuckin' know what they are," Hauer responded with a shrug. "I just know that shooting them at point blank will kill you faster than their mouths," he said, remembering how Officer Carl Brown had been splashed by the blood of one of the creatures after shooting it point blank with a shotgun, only to be eaten alive by the creature's blood. The sight had quickly taught Hauer the value of engaging the creatures from a distance with metal slugs instead of shots in order to reduce the amount of blood sprayed.

"What does that mean?" Fernandez asked him. "Their blood is highly acidic, like... stomach acid on steroids," Hauer explained with a far away look in his eyes. "Who got hit with it?" Kellogg asked, noticing the look on the detective's face.

"New officer, named Brown. He shot one of 'em at point blank with a shotgun, and it bled all over the place, spraying like a geyser. Ate poor Brown to the bone," Hauer said with a shudder. If he made it out of this situation alive, he'd already decided that getting a therapist would be an excellent idea after finding a new place to live.

"So... they _can_ be killed, these things?" Harrison asked him. "Uh, yeah. I believe I just said that," Hauer replied. "So, what do they look like? You said one was killed, so there should be a body for us to look at, right?" Kellogg asked him.

"Uh... well... it kind of happened in the basement when we blocked off the connecting tunnels to the sewer system. That area's been blocked off, and there's no way in hell that I'm opening it back up," Hauer explained. "Sir, are there any other bodies that you're aware of which we could look at? It would help us in identifying our targets before we make first contact," Kellogg requested.

"Well... I don't really know. The few that I killed were all outside on the side of the building. I shot 'em as they were crawling up following Brown's death. You could always check the grounds outside then, but... yeah, we've got plenty of time until night," Hauer said.

"Night? These things are nocturnal?" Quail asked him curiously. "Hm, maybe," Hauer said in response with a tired shrug and a yawn, which he covered to prevent spreading. "I mean, yeah, they all disappeared when the sun came up, but I've still seen packs of them crawling around outside now and then," Hauer elaborated.

"Maybe you can describe them to us then?" Warner asked him.

"Well... they look like living skeletons, blacks and browns and tans... but some of them are jet black with yellow spots on 'em. They've got, I think, maybe four or six fingers on each hand. They've got fangs and claws. No eyes, though. Not that I could make out on 'em. Their heads are... weird. Like, they stretch back and forward. Like... elongated, that's the word," Hauer continued.

"Kind of phallic in appearance, oddly enough. Some of them... have these whitish domes on the tops of their heads, from the mouths to the back tips, but others... don't. The others have this ribbing on their heads, like ridges, and these deep pits in the sides near the front with these tiny little cables come out that run along the length of their heads. I remember seeing a dead one up close. It was... no, it wasn't dead. It was playing possum. It just waited until I turned my back to try attacking me. It was the one Brown killed," Hauer said in remembrance.

"Yeah, it was just... just laying there on the floor. Anyway," Hauer said, shaking his head. "Yeah, they've got these... things on their backs. Like tubes or something. And this... little spine under the back of the head. They're like... I don't know how else to describe them. Words can't do it justice... not until you've seen 'em in person," Hauer said thoughtfully.

"Oh, one more thing," he said. "I just remembered. Their mouths. Oh, those nasty little mouths. Inside the mouth is another one, like a tongue with its own set of jaws," Hauer said, remembering how one of the creatures had extended that inner jaw to intimidate him and Brown.

"The ones with the ribbed heads; they push out the tongues and then lunge, but the domed ones... they just grab ya and and shoot it out," Hauer said. "I think... maybe it's an age thing? Or maybe a sex thing, like males and females. No idea which one is which, though," he said thoughtfully.

Staring at him in bewilderment and apprehension, Alpha and Bravo teams both nodded their heads slowly, with Harrison keeping her eyes on the shotgun in Hauer's hands. "Uh-huh. Um, out of curiosity, who else is still alive?" Harrison asked the detective.

"Oh, I don't really know. I remember talking to Chief Young on the phone earlier... when she was attacked at home. That was when Dawn over there lost it and gave up. He always did have anxiety issues," Hauer said.

"Hold on just a minute," Kellogg said before calling Dent on his headset. "Lieutenant Dent, we've encountered another survivor in the station. He's Detective Ben Hauer, the man you talked to earlier. He's proven to be cooperative and is sharing information with us at the moment. We'll keep you posted as we learn more from him. Kellogg out," Kellogg said. "Please, go on," he then said to the detective.

"With what?" Hauer asked him. "Well, who else is still alive? And where? We need to know this so that we can begin carrying out rescue operations to find civilians and fortify defenses against these things," Kellogg explained.

"Well... I know that Sergeant Banks and his team are finishing up their sweep of the garage, so... I guess, let's see," Hauer said as he began counting in his head. "Banks, Dawn, me... Watters... Simmons... Hodges... Carver... Bronson... hmm... Mason... Storm... Nelson too... um, I'm not really sure. I know about eleven of us are still in the building right now. We haven't heard anything from the Lieutenant Carpenter and her team at the hospital yet. And Captain Lantham is still trying to contact the guys over at Station Two," Hauer said.

"Wait, you managed to send people to the hospital, even while you were being attacked yourselves?" Kellogg asked him.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, Lieutenant Carpenter took a SWAT team over there last night to meet up with animal control when they got hit. Of course, we still didn't know what was going on, but I remember Carpenter telling us that her team was holding down a secured position inside with dozens of patients and staff. That was almost ten hours ago. We haven't heard anything since then," Hauer explained.

"Just how severely was the hospital hit?" Harrison asked him. "Pretty bad. It was the first place to call us for help when the attack began, followed by the mall, and then various housing units and stores throughout the city. Bars, clubs, restaurants... the attacks were happening everywhere. We were still getting calls for help while we were being attacked ourselves. We've been so busy trying to fortify the station that we... just... kind of... forgot to check in on them," Hauer said with a worried tone in his voice.

"How large was Carpenter's SWAT team?" Kellogg asked him. "Uh... I don't know. It was night shift, so they probably took only one Raven," Hauer said, referring to the flying transport used by police forces and emergency medical services around the colonies. Military forces almost never used these vehicles, since Cheyenne dropships had far better travel range and could handle far rougher and tougher weather than the M78 Raven ever could. The Raven could also only hold up to eight personnel inside of it, counting the pilot and co-pilot, whereas a dropship could easily hold three dozen men and women on its ramp alone.

A Raven didn't even have a ramp. It was designed much like a helicopter, with doors that were opened for troops to exit and enter, and a small amount of space for stowing gear and supplies. All in all, it worked fine for security forces and emergency services in cities, but on most colonies, when Colonial Marines were called in to deal with problems, the UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship was always the preferred vehicle.

"A single Raven?" Harrison asked him. Hauer nodded his head. "They're SWAT. They can handle almost anything... almost," Hauer said.

"How many officers from this station were killed or taken last night?" Kellogg asked Hauer. "Last night? Well, in the first wave, we lost... about twenty-three officers. Seventeen of them were taken alive, and the six dead were taken when the second wave hit us, along with eight more officers, including Lieutenant Flowers. Then the third wave came by after about three hours, but by that point we had already hidden ourselves and fortified our positions, I think. I'd fallen asleep by that point in one of the storage closets after securing the sewer tunnel entrance with Brown," Hauer explained.

"How many of these creatures were in each wave?" Kellogg asked him.

"Huh, I don't really know. A dozen. Two dozen. Maybe three dozen. We didn't really kill any until the second wave attacked us, and even then it was only one or two of them. I only know that Brown killed one because I was there when it happened, and of course the few that I blew off the side of the building during one of my patrol sweeps," Hauer replied. "Then again, I never checked for any corpses after shooting them, so I don't really know if I actually killed any of 'em... except one that I blew the head off of. Didn't go back out to check on it, though," he added.

"You said that Captain Lantham is at the other station right now, correct?" Kellogg asked him.

"Yeah. I spoke to him about... three hours ago, I think. I don't really remember. I didn't pay attention to the time when I spoke to him, and since I was trying to take a power nap when Dawn here woke me up as you found him... I have no fucking clue what's going on anymore, honestly," Hauer said with a hapless shrug of his shoulders.

"What about the Marines?" Kellogg asked him. "The Marines? Uh... oh boy. I really don't know. We tried to contact them during the attack, but I have no idea if anyone got through to them or not," Hauer said. "I don't know if they're still alive or where they might be at. I... honestly have no idea what their situation is right now," he added with a defeated shrug.

"Okay, I want you to call all of your surviving officers back here to meet up with us. Then, we're going to take a trip to the hospital and try to find your missing SWAT team, in addition to rescuing any staff and patients who are still inside," Kellogg said. Hauer barked out a laugh at him.

"Oh, please! You go in there and you probably won't come back out," Hauer scoffed. "But your fellow officers are trapped in there!" Harrison cried out at him.

"Trapped? Honey, if they were still _alive_ , they would have contacted us by now. I'm serious, if those things came after _us_ in wave after wave, then what makes you think that anyone at the _hospital_ is going to be intact at this point?" Hauer asked her in response.

"We still don't know that they're dead. We have a responsibility to find out," Kellogg said firmly, earning another snicker from Hauer. "Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you," Hauer said, shaking his head.

"You aren't coming with us, are you?" Harrison asked him expectantly.

"Pfft! Fuck no!" Hauer replied incredulously. "I've survived by staying where it's slightly safer than anywhere else. I'm not about to jeopardize that! Unless, of course, you want to take everyone back to your nice big Army base until this boils over," Hauer suggested. "We'll see what we can do, but for now, we need to contact our operation commander," Kellogg said before calling Dent on his headset.

Kellogg spent several minutes conversing with Dent about what he had recently learned, before allowing Dent to speak to him. "Yes, that's what we've been told," Kellogg said in response to a question from Dent. "Well, I'd like to take Wolf Squad to the Diamond Bay Primary Hospital to search for more survivors and a missing SWAT team, Lieutenant," Kellogg said.

Kellogg listened as Dent began speaking, grimacing in response at times. "Well, he said it was about ten hours ago," Kellogg said in response to a question. He nodded his head as Dent spoke to him again.

"Uh-huh... will do, sir," Kellogg said as he spoke with Dent, nodding his head to the man's words. "But, we're obligated to look for survivors, sir," Kellogg said in protest. He nodded again as Dent continued speaking to him. "I'll accept full responsibility for whatever happens, Lieutenant," Kellogg finally said after a few minutes.

"Yes, I _will_ ," he added firmly. "Alright, understood. I'll inform everyone," Kellogg said after a couple more minutes of Dent talking to him. "Affirmative. Kellogg Out," he added before sighing. "Okay, listen up, people! We'll be gathering intel from the surviving police officers here and at Station Two. After that, we have permission to join up with Hornet Squad at the Diamond Bay Primary Hospital. I've also received word that Bear Squad will be be entering the mall to look for other survivors," Kellogg relayed.

"Hey, Detective, what do you know about the mall?" Quail asked Hauer.

"Um... I heard someone say that it was hit shortly after the hospital. Other than that, I don't know anything," Hauer said. Everyone looked at each other briefly.

"Okay. Hauer, call Captain Lantham and tell him that we'll be meeting up with him at Station Two in half an hour. We'll be in touch on this frequency," Kellogg said as he grabbed a piece of paper from the floor and a pen from a nearby desk and wrote down the radio frequency of their headsets and the APC. "Now, tell me, did you see any ears on these things when they attacked? I wanna know how good their hearing is in case we find any in the hospital," Kellogg asked Hauer as an afterthought.

"Uh... no, but that doesn't mean they don't have 'em. I mean, I'd never seen these things before, so... who knows what their ears look like if they have 'em?" Hauer responded with a shrug as he leaned against the door frame. The soldiers soon began walking past him into the hallway, before another police officer, one wearing full SWAT gear, approached them.

"Sergeant Homer Banks reporting," the officer said. He was brandishing a riot shotgun in his gloved hands. His outfit was standard SWAT blue in color, although he had an extra vest covering his front, held together by flimsy attachments to his shoulders.

"Sergeant Banks? Are you going to accompany us to look for your comrades at the hospital later?" Harrison asked him. Banks shook his head.

"Negative, Ma'am. My orders are to remain here and protect the civilians who have made their way-holy crap. You guys got Dawn out of that office?" Banks asked mid-sentence.

"Um, not really. He's cowering under a desk right now," Harrison replied sheepishly. "Oh. After hearing about Chief Young, he just... he was already hanging by a thread, but... he just lost it after that. The man is going to need years of intense therapy after what we've all gone through," Banks said solemnly.

"Sergeant Banks, have you personally encountered any of these creatures yourself?" Sergeant Kellogg asked him. "Yes, sir. I blew the the head off of at least three of them when the second wave hit us," Banks replied.

"Where was this at? Can we see the bodies?" Kellogg asked him eagerly. Banks shook his head in response. "I'm sorry, but that was down in the sewer system, shortly before we closed it off. I'm not gonna risk opening those doors up again," Banks said.

"Wait, I thought that Hauer said he and Officer Brown were the ones who sealed those doors," Harrison pointed out.

"They did, but my SWAT team and I were trapped on the other side when that happened. We had to fight our way back to the surface through the sewer system after that. Only two of us made it out. Me and Simmons. He should be around here somewhere doing an inventory of the armory," Banks said.

"How many officers are currently still accounted for?" Kellogg asked him.

"Uh... I think there are about twelve of us left," Banks said.

"We're going to meet up with Captain Lantham at the second station. Do you want us to relay a message to him for you?" Kellogg asked the SWAT officer. "No. We can radio him from our communications room. It wasn't too badly damaged during the assault, but we did lose four dispatchers," Banks said with a frown.

"Alright. How many SWAT officers are left in total? Do you know?" Kellogg asked in response.

"Um... Only three guys from my unit. Uh, one of them, Hodges, was still in the station when the doors were closed on the rest of us," Banks explained. "Did you run into any Marines while you were down there?" Kellogg asked him.

"We found two of them... with those facehuggers attached to their heads. We found a third Marine a while later. We heard her gun going off shortly before we reached her, but that was because she'd decided to eat it," Banks said.

"So, the face creatures are related to the animals that attacked you guys last night?" Harrison asked him.

"Probably. I mean, some of them had yellow highlights and spots just like some of the big nasties. That can't just be a coincidence," Banks said thoughtfully in response.

"We know that people attacked by the face things were taken to the hospital. Do you think we might be able to learn anything more over there?" Harrison asked him. Banks looked at her with a strange expression on his face.

"You... wanna go to the hospital? Look, I know that you guys are trained soldiers, but it's not worth going over there. I know you think that you have a duty, but... trust me. Don't do it. That was where I lost Schiffer and Howers when we got out of the sewers. I saw things in there. I saw things that I can never un-see. I don't care if those things went back underground after the sun came up, I just can't go back there. I'm sorry, but I can't do it," Banks said, trying his best to avoid thinking about the horrors he and Simmons had witnessed while fighting through the blood-stained corridors of the hospital.

"Just bomb the damn place. If anyone was still alive when me and Simmons escaped, they aren't now," Banks said solemnly before leaning against the wall. "Um, out of curiosity, what's with the extra vest?" Quail asked him.

"Oh, this? That's for if I shoot one at close range. The blood will eat through it, but if I disengage it, the vest will fall to the floor and I can keep moving," Banks explained. Everyone else nodded their heads in understanding before walking away.

"Hey!" Banks called out them as they reached the stairwell. "If you guys are actually stupid enough to go to the hospital... save an extra bullet for yourselves, each of ya. That's all I can say," Banks told them with a somber expression on his face as he waved them goodbye.

When they were gone, he shook his head and leaned back against the wall. "Stupid, stupid idiots. They're all gonna die," he whispered to himself. "All of them."

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY GRAND SHOPPING CENTER, AKA "THE MALL"...**

Stepping forward towards the unmoving escalator, Corporal Tiffany Mills motioned for PFC Clive Deckard to take point with his smartgun. Behind them, the rest of Bear Squad followed closely as they walked up the stairs next to the escalator. All twelve soldiers watched their backs as they climbed the steps to reach the second floor of the gigantic shopping complex.

Advertisements lined the walls, along with recruitment posters for the Colonial Army and the Colonial Marines. Near the top of the steps was also a large holographic advertising board displaying an advert for the 185th anniversary release of a popular comedy from the 1990's, followed by a small promotional video for a popular brand of perfume. Also lining the walls were blood stains.

Upon reaching the landing, the squad divided itself into its fire teams. Fire teams Gamma, Harpoon, and India all began spreading out as they slowly approached the seemingly-deserted stores that lined the East Wing hall of the mall. Slowly, they soon reached a map of the building, showing all three shopping levels and the indoor parking garage attached to the West Wing entrance.

"Okay, Fire Team Harpoon will take the North Wing and search each level, store by store," Corporal Mills stated. "Fire Team India will take the South Wing and proceed in the same fashion. Fire Team Gamma will proceed into the West Wing. Before that, all of us will search the second floor of the East Wing, together. After we've conducted the sweep, we'll check the first floor of this wing, and then the third floor of the wing. All of us together going in and going out," Mills finished.

"Any questions?" she asked as she looked around at the eleven men and women who surrounded her.

"Which wing houses the food court?" Private Lebowitz asked jokingly. Mills glared at him, and he appeared to wilt under the intensity of it. "S-Sorry, sir," he apologized quickly. "You're forgiven. But try to keep a straight face while we're in here. We don't need to make survivors think that we're gung-ho smart-asses ready to blow their brains out by accident," Mills said sternly.

"Alright, move out," Mills said in a firm tone. Maybe if this mission was a success, she'd finally be promoted to Sergeant. That was something she eagerly looked forward to as she and her squad moved through the mall, checking their motion trackers and holding their guns with proper trigger discipline.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, 16:00 HOURS...**

Stepping up to the front doors of the hospital's lobby on Street A-12, Wolf Squad and Hornet Squad both took flanking positions as the smeared glass doors slid open for them. "Power's still on," Kellogg noted as he and Specialist Gorch entered the building first, followed by Sergeant O'Malley and Private Cameron. Thanks to Captain Darryl Lantham, the soldiers had acquired a series of schematics for the Diamond Bay Primary Hospital, which had then been uploaded to the command network for the soldiers to access via their helmets' electronic suites. The suites could be manipulated via voice command as well as a wired hookup to a computer terminal, if needed. In addition to their own personal headsets, the soldiers helmets also had their own microphone wires, which would link up specifically to the electronic suite for voice commands.

" _Sarge, please give me a slow pan around the interior of the lobby_ ," Specialist Franklin requested from inside the APC parked along the sidewalk. Dent had kept Wolf Squad's APC behind Hornet Squad's, staying several cars back as he parallel parked the massive vehicle next to the sidewalk instead of just stopping it like Franklin did. Meanwhile, back in the lobby, Sergeant O'Malley did as requested and slowly looked around the lobby.

Blood stains, dropped water cups, papers, pencils, rubber bands, broken glasses, and walking canes covered the marbled floor of the lobby. Bloodied hand prints could be seen on the walls, staining the otherwise pristine white walls. A wheelchair could be seen tilted onto its side near the front desk, and a discarded handgun lay on the floor, surrounded by a dozen 9mm casings and an ejected magazine nearby.

"Franklin, are you getting this?" O'Malley asked into his headset.

" _I'm getting it all right. Jesus. What happened in there?_ " she asked.

"Obviously, the cleaning staff took a day off," Kellogg joked darkly. O'Malley smirked and held in a snicker, reminding himself to appreciate the seriousness of their situation. "That's... that's not... [snicker] funny... Kelly," O'Malley lied as he attempted to glare at Kellogg.

Kellogg soon gave a gesture for the rest of the squads to enter the lobby behind them and fan out. Soon, twenty-four soldiers were walking around the interior of the building, searching the lobby for any signs of possible survivors. "Okay, split into fire teams," Kellogg called out.

"You know who you work with," he added as he looked around.

Dent then took charge over the headsets. " _Wolf Squad, I want you to move forward and take the South Wing. Hornet, take the North Wing. Both squads move floor by floor, room by room, and report any and all locations or sightings of ANYTHING. Is that understood? All fire teams are to stick together, and no heroics from anyone. All exits will be marked on your maps... now,_ " Dent said over the headsets. Each soldier pulled down their visors to access the command network and view the map.

"I want all personnel to say that they can see it. Do it now to avoid complications the further you get inside the hospital," Kellogg ordered as he looked around. A round of 'affirmatives' filled the room, one at a time, before Kellogg was satisfied with everyone being on the same page. "Okay, we're good," Kellogg said.

" _Okay. Proceed as instructed. Kellogg, O'Malley, you have control over which fire teams go where. Be careful. Dent out_ ," Dent said over the headset.

"Alright, let's move!" Kellogg barked at his troops before leading them over to a hallway entrance, watching as O'Malley did the same with Hornet Squad. Each squad moved in formation through the hallways of the first floor, silently breaking off into their respective fire teams as they began checking each room to their left and right. The first section of both floors had proper lighting, but no patients or staff to be found. Much like Station One, the place seemed abandoned, yet the various stains on the walls and floors told a different story.

Entering Room A-012 on the first floor, South Wing, Fire Team Bravo looked around for signs of life. Six patient beds filled the room, each one having a privacy curtain that was pulled back to its starting point. There were spare bed pans located under the beds, but no signs of any patients or staff, until Harrison saw a white stain on the floor, leading to the far side of a bed.

Moving slowly forward, Harrison held her weapon at the ready, until she saw that the stain led to a heavily damaged Bob unit. There was a scalpel jammed into the synthetic's right eye, and white fluid had leaked out and stained the droid's uniform, neck, chin, and mouth. Its left leg had been torn off, and the right arm was missing its hand, while the left arm hung limply at its side.

"Sergeant Kellogg, this is Corporal Harrison of Fire Team Bravo. We are in Room A-Twelve, still on the first floor. We've found a heavily damaged synthetic. I think it's a Bill unit," Harrison said, only for Quail to correct her. "Bob. It's a _Bob_ unit," Quail said, pointing out the still-intact name tag on the droid. "Sorry, it's a _Bob_ unit. Number ten, according to the name tag," Harrison said. "Male body type, I think," she added as she looked at the torso.

" _Is he still functioning?_ " Kellogg asked her over the headset. "I don't know. It's lost a lot of synth blood. Hold on, let me check," Harrison said before carefully creeping forward and pressing her left hand against the head of the Bob. The unit remained silent.

"Yeah, it's expired," Harrison said, remembering the very obvious scalpel that had been jammed deep into the droid's right eye socket.

A further sweep revealed that nothing else was in the room, and Bravo moved out into the hallway, just as Fire Team Charlie entered another room ahead of them. The sweeps continued in much the same fashion as the soldiers progressed through the halls of the hospital's ground floor, until it was time to move up to the next level. Finding a staircase, both squads carefully made their way up to Level B, where Hornet Squad was greeted with the sight of a dismembered Bob unit on the floor. There were also a blue SWAT helmet and an SMG on the ground nearby, along with blood stains on the wall.

The Bob's head was lying near a corner, while his torso was stuck in a door up ahead, and his left arm and right leg were lying on the ground nearby. Stepping closer to the door, Fire Team Delta checked for signs of movement on their trackers. "Nothing, Sarge," Private Scott said after checking his tracker.

The room was empty as the team entered it, with a light flickering in the corner, and blood stains visible on the walls and floor. Bed covers were tossed aside, and everything seemed just as the previous rooms, but something new, on the floor, caught Sergeant O'Malley's attention. Crouching down, he grabbed and lifted up a translucent pink-tinged material. It was almost like a snake's skin when it was shed, O'Malley considered as he handled it.

Dropping the skin on the floor, O'Malley glanced around the room. "Keep sharp, people. We have evidence of previous activity in this room. There's some kind of... shed skin on the floor from something," O'Malley reported over the headset. "Possibly our night-time animals," he added as he gripped the handle of his pulse rifle tightly.

Finishing their sweep of the room, the soldiers returned to the hallway, seeing that the other fire teams were entering other rooms lining the hall.

Meanwhile, In the South Wing, Level B, Wolf Squad had just cleared six rooms with no signs of life. "We missed it. We missed whatever happened here," Quail said as he and Harrison pulled out of room B-005, followed quickly by Fernandez and Gross. Checking her motion tracker, Harrison nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, trackers are clear and all we've found so far are busted droids and abandoned equipment," Harrison said with a sigh. Moving up to the next room, Harrison motioned for her team to stand to the sides of the door before she opened it. The door slid open with a mechanical hiss, and Harrison checked the motion tracker for movement before motioning for Quail to step up beside her as they entered the room.

Unlike the previous rooms in the facility, this particular room actually held patients in their beds. "Sarge, this is Bravo Team. We've found patients in Room B-zero-seven," Harrison reported over the headset.

" _What's their status?_ " Kellogg asked her.

"Alive, but... they have those facehuggers attached to them, sir," Harrison reported with disappointment in her voice as she spied the eight-legged freaks attached to the patients on the beds. " _Mark the room on your map. We'll come back to it after we finish sweeping the rest of the building_ ," Kellogg said over the headset.

"Understood, Sarge," Harrison said before deftly switching to the other microphone. "Mark Room number Bee-Zero-Zero-Seven for return trip," she said as she pulled down her helmet's visor, watching as a green circled appeared around the room on the map, with time and date stamped on it. Harrison then pressed a small button on the hing attached to the visor and pulled it up into its resting spot again.

"Alright, let's continue moving," Harrison said as her team finished sweeping the room for signs of anyone else. Exiting the room, Fire Team Bravo moved on ahead, walking over to a corner at a T-junction. Peering around the corner, Harrison saw that the lights were off in the hallway to her right, while the doors in the middle of the hall to her left had red lights above them indicating that they were locked.

Slowly waking over to the locked doors in the hallway to her left, Harrison peered through the glass sections and saw Fire Team Echo entering a room on the other side of the hallway. Tapping on the glass, she saw Private Rhonda Simmons glance her way and wave at her morosely before entering the room with the others. Turning around, Harrison motioned for her team to meet at a door perpendicular to the locked hallway doors.

Opening this door, Fire Team Bravo saw a broken light cover on the floor, with the wiring hanging down from the ceiling, and a shattered glass tube on the floor. Looking up above, Harrison saw that the hatch for a maintenance shaft was open, and she carefully stepped forward and shone her light up into the dark metal cavern. Aiming her flashlight elsewhere, Harrison saw bullet holes in the ceiling, before glancing down to see more 9mm casings on the floor, mixed in with the shards of glass from the light tube.

Over by a chair, a service pistol covered in blood could be seen.

Glancing around the room, Harrison and her team eventually determined that there was no one to be found, and they pulled out before continuing down the hallway, meeting up with Fire Team Alpha as they exited a room nearby. "What was in there?" Kellogg asked Harrison.

"An open maintenance vent, broken glass, an abandoned pistol, and a non-functioning ceiling light," Harrison reported.

Kellogg nodded his head in affirmation before turning around to see Fire Team Charlie bringing up the squad's rear. "Does anyone see a light switch?" Kellogg asked as he looked at the dark hallway ahead of them. He took his squad's silence as a 'no'.

Turning on their helmet-mounted flashlights, the squad looked ahead at a blank and empty corridor. "Return to fire team formations and continue the sweep. Maintain radio contact," Kellogg ordered briskly. "Watch each other's backs."

Everyone nodded their heads with quiet 'yes sirs', before moving on, searching the dark unsettling rooms of Level B with a slowly building feeling in their guts that something was wrong. It wasn't just the obvious blood stains and missing patients that brought about this feeling. It was the fact that there were no other sounds other than themselves in the building.

Aside from the soldiers' boots on the ground, the only sounds inside the hospital were doors opening and the low humming of electronic machinery next to empty beds.

The building was silent. It was unnatural. There were no EKG machines or EEG machines pinging or beeping next to patients in beds. The heart monitors next to IV transfers were silent, having automatically powered down after an hour of flat-lining earlier in the morning and night when patients had been removed from their beds and torn away from the machines.

With every abandoned and empty room, the feeling of unease grew within them. The sense of wrongness that filled the hospital grew more and more suffocating as they found strange shed skins in places, open vents for maintenance shafts, and eviscerated synthetics. It was a sickening feeling that grew the closer the squad got to finishing their sweep.

Eventually, the squad cleared Level B and moved up to Level C. "Come in Hornet Squad, this is Sergeant Kellogg. Wolf Squad is moving up to Level C. How far along are you in your search?" Kellogg asked over the headset.

" _Kelly, this is O'Malley. We're just finishing up the North Wing. We'll be proceeding to Level D next, if you'd like to switch things up a bit_ ," O'Malley offered.

Kellogg gently bit into his lower lip as he mulled over the offer. "Alright. We'll take Level C and you guys can take Level D. Stay in contact with us," Kellogg said, finally relenting.

" _Affirmative. O'Malley out_ ," O'Malley said over the headset. Kellogg sighed as he closed his eyes and wondered if he had made the right call. There was no use worrying about it now, though. He would just have to keep moving and find out later.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, LEVEL D...**

Stepping into the first hallway of Level D, Sergeant O'Malley glanced around as Private Cameron moved up beside him. Behind them, Private Scott checked his motion tracker. "Still nothing," Scott said as he kept his eyes of the device.

"You know this place is really starting to give me the creeps," Private Cox said as he looked around at the open doors that lined the hallway in front of them.

"Everyone stay sharp and move in fire teams. Delta, let's move," O'Malley said as he motioned for his team to follow him into the first room on their left. Fire Team Echo moved up and took the room on the right, and Fire Team Falcon went up ahead to the next room on the left.

As with the floors below, all that greeted them were empty beds, blood stained walls, bullet casings on the floor, and discarded guns. A pair of broken glasses in one room broke the mold, but everything remained eerily the same. Except, however, for one thing.

Moving towards the Observation Ward, a strange substance was seen on the walls. It was fairly thin, but found in and among parts of it were severed limbs, positioned in various locations in such a way as to provide structural support for... something. The deeper into the ward the team moved, the sturdier, deeper, and thicker the substance covering the walls became, almost resembling some kind of secreted resin. It was currently found mostly in tenuously connected patches throughout the ward, covering the walls and the ceiling, but the floor was left alone for some reasons.

"Mills, are you seeing this?" O'Malley asked over his headset. "Mills? Mills, can you hear me?" O'Malley asked again, only getting static with faint sounds of Mills speaking. Backing up away from the strange resin on the walls, O'Malley made his way back towards the stairwell, where Mills' voice came in loud and clear.

"Mills, we have a slight problem," O'Malley said as he motioned for his squad to stop moving.

" _What is it?_ " Mills asked him.

"We've got a strange resin on the walls, and it appears to be blocking our signals," O'Malley explained.

" _I didn't have any problem with your video feed when you went in there. Try changing the radio frequency. It's operating on a different length than the camera feed_ ," Mills replied.

O'Malley raised an eyebrow, but otherwise followed his subordinate's instructions. Moving forward again, he found himself able to hear Mills quite clearly as he entered the hall of horrors once more. Looking at the various severed limbs attached to the walls, O'Malley felt a sickening dip in his gut, and he had to remind himself to breathe slowly. In and out.

"Mills, what do you make of this?" O'Malley asked over the headset.

" _I-I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. Just see if you can find survivors and then... finish sweeping the area. I heard from Kellogg that these things apparently disappeared into the sewers after the sun rose, so we should be good for now. We've got a few more hours until sunset. You'll be out of there in plenty of time_ ," Mills replied.

O'Malley nodded his head, having heard the same thing from Kellogg as well, only he distinctly remembered Kellogg saying that it was the surviving police who had told him, and that the detective who said so had also mentioned seeing a handful of the creatures venturing out a few times during the daylight prior to the soldiers' arrival. Still, if they were mostly nocturnal, then they should have been safe with their sweep of the hospital. And in any case, they were carrying much deadlier weaponry than the police had been armed with. O'Malley knew that he and his comrades would be fine. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

 **LEVEL C, THE PEDIATRIC CARE WARD...**

Staring at the decimated child-care room in front of her, Sasha Harrison grimaced at the sight of broken toys and games, shredded articles of clothing, tattered parenting magazines, and blood stains on the carpet and walls. The safety glass pane in the small secretary office was smashed, and stains of other origin covered the floor. The smell was bad, but Harrison had dealt with worse when scrubbing the latrines after once insulting Captain Stevens some years back.

That did not, however, make the current situation any more pleasant for her. Stepping up beside her, Quail kept his smartgun in a cease-fire position, which he had been doing a lot without any targets lately. He was hoping that he could perhaps go the rest of the day without having to fire his gun, as the eerie and somber feel of the city was starting to take its toll on him.

"Animals are animals, Sash. They don't have moral principles like humans and droids," Quail said in an attempt to provide a slight amount of comfort to her. "I know, but... that doesn't make it any easier," she replied as she walked around the waiting area, looking at the clawed furniture and lost toys. The fact that parents and children had undoubtedly been attacked in this area was what unsettled Harrison the most out of everything she had seen so far.

Elsewhere in the Pediatric Ward, Sergeant Kellogg and the rest of Fire Team Alpha looked around at the prenatal testing and care rooms. "Sir, is this section connected to the maternity ward?" Gorch asked Kellogg. "No, that's in the North Wing of this level. South Wing is Pediatrics. North Wing is Maternity," Kellogg replied after checking the map of the building.

"Charlie, what's your status?" Kellogg then asked, remembering that Fire Team Charlie had been assigned to search the Maternity Ward.

" _This is Rosario. We're in the Maternity Ward. Sarge, there's something that's been bugging me since we got here,_ " Rosario said over the headset.

"Go on," Kellogg permitted.

" _Well, we've seen a lot of blood in this place, but just where the hell are all of the bodies? Where are the remains? That detective said that these things took the living first, but for what? What were they capturing people for?_ " Rosario asked in frustration.

"I don't know. Just keep doing your sweep and report back to Rally Point Charlie once you're done. We'll meet you there," Kellogg replied over his headset.

" _Affirmative. Rosario out._ "

 **LEVEL D, OBSERVATION WARD...**

Walking through the corridors of the observation ward, which housed several different sections of observation rooms, Fire Team Delta and Fire Team Echo moved cautiously. The alien webbing and resin on the walls around them wasn't as widespread as they had initially believed, with multiple large patches of wall still visible throughout, providing a stark contrast with the foreign substance. The substance itself also seemed... incomplete, somehow, to the soldiers as they inspected it.

Some portions, such as the bottom area that was adhering to the walls, seemed hardy and mostly developed, but the farther away from the wall the resin was, the softer, flimsier, and less developed it appeared. Some of it had a slightly translucent affect as well, like the stained glass panels of a church window, only without the vibrant colors and decorative imagery. Also unlike the windows of a church, the resin-like substance had an appearance that was anything but holy.

It was as almost as though a cancerous growth had taken over the walls, in O'Malley's opinion. Somehow, the analogy seemed fitting for their current location. However, as O'Malley neared an observation room window, he saw something.

"Cameron, get over here! Scott, you and Cox move into flanking positions!" O'Malley barked in an almost hushed tone to his subordinates. The three soldiers took up their positions around him and the door of the room as he pointed to the source of his excitement. While the window pane was intact, it was also smudged, and almost had a smoked looked to it, the opposite of what a hospital window should look like. Yet, even with the stains, O'Malley could make out the shapes and fuzzy details of people inside the room.

"This is O'Malley to Mills, we've found some possible survivors in... Observation Room Dee-Oh-Zero-Zero-One. We are moving in for a closer look," O'Malley said into his microphone. " _Understood, Sarge. Remain alert for other activity in the area. The video I'm getting isn't very uplifting. A slaughterhouse looks more sanitary than the interior of this hospital right now_ ," Mills responded.

Motioning for Cameron to remain at the side of the door, O'Malley quickly jogged over to control panel next to the door and entered an emergency access code he had found within the hospital's schematics and most recent inspection report. The door slid open feebly, parts of the strange resin sticking to it before finally giving up. As the door finally opened fully, O'Malley gestured for Cameron to hold his position as he slowly swept the doorway with the muzzle of his rifle.

Listening for any odd noises, he finally stepped into the room alone, before seeing a dead facehugger on the ground to his left. It was curled up in rigor mortis, as were several more of the creatures lying under the tables of the patients occupying the room. They all seemed unharmed and intact, and after motioning for Cameron to enter the room, O'Malley performed a closer inspection.

He checked for a pulse on the closest one, a young woman with red hair. Her breathing was steady, but she seemed comatose. "Private, check the others," O'Malley ordered Cameron. The Private First Class did as instructed and began feeling for a pulse on each patient he passed, carefully stepping around the dead facehuggers on the floor.

In total, both soldiers counted twelve patients in the room, along with twelve dead facehuggers on the floor. O'Malley looked around the room, seeing no signs of the strange growth on the walls or any blood stains. The interior of the room was... clean. He then looked back down at the dead facehuggers on the floor, and began trying to put together the puzzle in front of him as a strange and foreboding feeling began to slowly well up inside of him.

Looking over at a nearby computer terminal, O'Malley saw that the light under the flat screen monitor was orange, indicating that it was merely powered down, not turned off. Slowly walking over to the terminal, he pressed an arrow key on the keyboard and watched as the light flickered before changing to green. The screen lit up and showed a desktop with several windows open, one of which had a small bitmap image of a speaker next to it.

Using the nearby mouse, O'Malley double clicked on the icon and watched as a media player opened on the screen, showing a small progress bar that slowly moved across the window as the recording played.

" _This is Doctor Haruo Kawakita, recording on... Monday, June ninth, at twelve in the morning. It's been a couple hours now, and while everyone else has gone into hysterics, I have forced myself to remain calm and, with two Bobs, have begun trying to seal the facility to contain our recent guests. These animals attacked us just a little while ago, and while the SWAT team is rounding up our patients and staff to herd them into safe locations, I feel that I must continue my work._ "

O'Malley rolled his eyes.

" _There is a link, I'm sure, between the facehuggers, as we've come to call these little creatures, and the larger animals that attacked us a short while ago. As some of the facehuggers are pink with yellow spots and stripes, some of the large creatures also possess yellow highlights on their bodies, despite being otherwise black in coloration. This alone is evidence of a connection of some kind, and... what the hell?_ "

O'Malley raised an eyebrow as the recording continued, but this time the doctor had a more tired and exhausted voice.

" _It is now... shit, almost three in the morning. Dear god, these things just keep coming. Half of the SWAT team have been taken, and so have most of the remaining staff. Our Bobs, being produced for skilled labor within specific industries, aren't even close to a match for these things. I've seen one tear a Bob unit's head off with almost no effort. Shit! [Gunfire echoes in the distance] I'm out of time! They've come back again! [Gunfire draws closer] I don't think I'll be able to get away this time. All I have with me is a scalpel... and I know what the creatures' blood will do to me. There is no way to save these patients. I have only one choice. This is Doctor Haruo Kawakita, in what may be my final recorded log at this hospital. To anyone who may find this: Run. Get out of this building and get as far away as you can._ "

The small dot on the media player reached the end of the line and the recording stopped. O'Malley took out a thumb drive to insert into a slot on the computer, only to learn that his device was not recognized and needed administrator approval before he could copy any files from the system. And he didn't know any of the staff's passwords for the computers.

"Damn," he muttered angrily. He then looked around at the patients. Whatever Dr. Kawakita had been planning on doing, he'd been stopped by someone... or _something_.

"Dent, come in. This is O'Malley. We've found a group of twelve survivors, all patients in the observation ward," O'Malley reported. He received only static, remembering that Dent was still using a different channel or frequency.

"Okay, Cameron, let's close the door and check out the other rooms. We'll come back later," O'Malley said. Cameron nodded his head in affirmation as he and O'Malley exited the room together. Walking over to room D-O-02, O'Malley looked in through the window and saw more patients. "We've got more survivors," he said.

Once again, he opened the doors and entered the room, calling for Cameron to follow him. This room, unlike the other one, had patches on resin on the walls and corners. Lying on the twelve tables of the room were over a dozen patients, some of whom were starting to stir. O'Malley watched as a gruff-looking man with a stubble started to blink away the cobwebs of sleep, sluggishly moving his arms to wipe at his face.

"Ugh. Wait... where am I?" he asked in confusion as he looked around and saw the other people lying around him, some of whom were also groggily waking up. He then saw the two soldiers standing in the doorway. "Who... what's going on?" the man asked.

"We're soldiers of the United States Colonial Army, Forty-Second Battalion, A-Company, Hornet Squad," O'Malley explained curtly. "What are soldiers doing in a hospital?" the man asked in confusion. "Well, you were admitted because a strange animal had attached itself to your face and put you into a coma. Because of your coma, you missed all of the action that occurred last night and early this morning... as did we," O'Malley answered.

The now-awake man blinked in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked O'Malley. "Son, I wish I knew," O'Malley responded.

"Sarge," Cameron said, "just heard from Echo. They've found people cocooned to the walls deeper into the building." O'Malley blinked as he glanced at Cameron, before looking back at the waking patients. "Okay, Cameron? That was the _wrong_ thing to say around these people," O'Malley chided him.

"But, sir... one of them is awake. It's a doctor who knows what happened," Cameron relayed, causing O'Malley to widen his eyes and reach up to his headset. "Echo, what's your status?" O'Malley asked.

" _Sir, we've found a doctor cocooned to the wall. The resin in this area is a lot more developed and a lot tougher than what we found earlier. Come on, keep calm, buddy. Just keep calm,_ " Specialist Ryan Miller said over the headset.

" _We have to get out of here! We have to go! Get me out! Cut me out of this! Please, before they bring the facehuggers, hurry!_ " a panicked male voice could be heard over the headset.

"Miller who is that?" O'Malley asked. " _A doctor. His name is Kawakita or something. He's the only cocooned person without anything on his face_ ," Miller explained. "Kawakita? Miller, cut him loose and bring him over to my position. I'm in Observation Room Dee-Oh-Zero-Two," O'Malley ordered.

" _On it,_ " Miller replied over the headset.

O'Malley listened to the conversation between Miller and Dr. Kawakita over the headset as best he could, until he noticed that one of the patients was looking pale. "Hey, are you okay?" O'Malley asked her. "Y-Yeah. I-I'm fine. Just... hungry," she said.

"Well, when we get you to a safe place, we'll get you something to eat, okay? Just hold on. One of our teams found a doctor and they're gonna bring him here to check you out and then we can all leave this horror carnival together," O'Malley said in as comforting a tone as possible.

"Yeah, I feel hungry too," another patient said. As did another, and another, another... They must not have eaten in days, O'Malley realized. He glanced over at Cameron. "Private, you got anything on you? Anything we can give these people to eat?" O'Malley asked Cameron.

"Uh... I stowed some candy bars in my harness, but... I don't know if we should give these people anything until they've been checked out by a doctor," Cameron replied hesitantly, scanning the room as he looked at the patients curiously. Something seemed off about them, he noted. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

It was only when one of the patients, a young girl, complained about being hungry, that Cameron finally relented. "Okay, but... only because she's a child. If I give something to this little girl, does anyone else what some now, or do you all want to wait until you've been checked out?" Cameron asked them.

"We... we can wait a little bit. She's just a child, after all," one of the patients, a heavy-set man with blond hair, said with a reluctant look on his face. Everyone else murmured in agreement.

"Alright. Let's make note of where the bathrooms are as well, although... there should be bedpans in here too, right?" Cameron asked as he began sifting through his harness and extra supply vest for candy bars that he had hidden away prior to leaving the base. As he took out a candy bar, he saw that it contained an allergen warning on the wrapper.

"Uh, this contains nuts. Is anyone in here allergic to peanuts?" Cameron asked carefully. Only two people nodded their heads. The little girl was not one of them. Reluctantly, Cameron unwrapped the candy bar and broke off a small piece before giving it to the little girl. She smiled sweetly at him before licking her lips as she held out her hands.

Feeling his restraints melt away, PFC Cameron smiled at the little girl as he gave her the piece of his candy bar, which she greedily consumed in seconds. "Damn, how long were you out?" he asked her. "I don't know," she replied before eyeing the rest of the candy bar in his hand.

"Uh-uh. Just a piece. After the doctor checks you out, you can have more," Cameron said sternly. The little girl pouted briefly, but then reluctantly nodded her head.

"Miller, this is O'Malley. We gave one of the patients, a little girl, a small piece of a candy bar. Can you let the doctor know?" O'Malley asked as he looked around the room. A strange sensation began to fill him as he saw Scott and Cox standing guard outside the window of the room.

O'Malley listened as Miller explained the little girl's food intake to the doctor as they continued freeing him, until the doctor yelled. " _No! No, feeding is what jump-starts it! The final phase of gestation is tied to the victim's metabolism! Once they start eating, it quick starts the process! Tell your men to get out of the room! Tell them to sequester the girl!_ " O'Malley heard the doctor shrieking at Miller through the headset.

"What the-" O'Malley was cut off when he eyed the little girl and saw her starting to cough lightly. A pained expression then overcame her face as she held a hand up to her chest. She let out a cry of pain as she clutched at her chest.

The doctor's words began to register in O'Malley's mind. Not what he had just heard, but from the recording.

 _There is no way to save these patients. I have only one choice._

O'Malley's eyes widened as little girl began crying out in pain, with the other patients leaping off of their beds to help her. "Dammit! She _was_ allergic!" one of the cried out, not realizing that peanuts weren't the true cause of the little girl's current predicament.

Cameron moved forward to help, only for O'Malley to hold him back, before he slung his rifle and slowly reached for his sidearm. It all began to make sense now to him. And he hated what he was about to do, but he knew now that it was too late to save this little girl.

"Private, don't let any of them eat anything," O'Malley ordered quietly. Cameron looked at his superior in bewilderment. "They're all infected with something, and eating triggers something within the infected," O'Malley explained vaguely.

O'Malley felt his hear break as he heard the little girl crying louder, soon screeching in agonizing pain. His heart rate picked up, and he began to sweat as he watched one of the patients put his fingers down the girl's throat in an attempt to get her to throw up and expel the candy chunk, still thinking that the girl's problem was a peanut allergy. And then things got worse as the adults tried to hold the girl down, and she kicked and screamed and struggled against them.

And then it happened.

The blood squirted out and stained the faces of the adults, shocking them as their fellow patient continued to struggle, before something arose from within, breaking through a skin-covered barrier with great force, and sending more blood flying. "Jesus _**Fucking Christ** **!**_ " one of the patients exclaimed as he fell back onto his ass, giving O'Malley a clear shot, and view, of the dying girl on the table.

He hadn't even raised his pistol as he saw the worm-like creature rising up and letting out a small cry to signify its birth to the world. A thin membrane collapsed from the tiny creature, revealing a pink body with yellow stripes and spots on it. Two small folded arms protruded from the left and right sides of the creature, pieces of the membrane hanging from them.

The creature had no eyes, and its tiny mouth was filled with needle-like teeth as it let out another trill while it somehow surveyed its surroundings. It showed no fear of the people near it, somehow sensing that its brethren waited deep within in, but when it sensed O'Malley and Cameron, it let out a shrill hiss.

The other patients stepped back in horror.

"What the _FUCK_ was in that candy bar!?" one of them asked incredulously, the other patients too shocked to even register his words.

"M-Miller. Th-This is... this is O'Malley," O'Malley spoke into his headset, shocked and disturbed by the scene in front of him. The small creature looked around for an escape route as O'Malley raised his sidearm and aimed. "The... young f-female p-patient is now d-deceased. She was... infected... with a... p-parasite of... some kind," O'Malley said through shudders, all of his steeled nerves threatening to snap under the trauma of what he had just witnessed.

"Miller?" O'Malley asked. The chestburster snarled at him in a defensive manner, before raising its head and letting out a shrill cry, one that lasted for several seconds. The tone of the cry was not menacing, O'Malley noted mentally.

 _It's... it's calling for help_ , he realized.

Then, the chestburster looked around at one of the other patients, the one on the floor. It sensed more of its species within him, but not of the same blood-line. The man in front of it held the infant of a rival hive within. And a rival hive was an enemy that needed to be eliminated... by any means necessary.

With a shrill snarl, the chestburster surged forth, slithering out of the red dwelling it had been nestling in, and coiled itself before pouncing at the man on the floor. "G-Get it off!" he screamed as he grappled with the tiny creature, grabbing it as it shrieked and bit at him. He held the creature in the air as its tail whipped around, before O'Malley put a hand on his shoulder. "Cameron, ready your gun!" O'Malley barked.

"On it!" Cameron replied curtly, positioning himself to aim his smartgun at the corner of the room. "Everyone get down!" O'Malley shouted as he grabbed the chestburster from the man on the floor. "Ready!?" O'Malley asked Cameron.

"Affirmative!" Cameron responded.

"Okay! Three! Two! One! Now!" O'Malley shouted as he threw the small pink creature through the air and over towards the corner near the door. The creature let out a shriek as it hit the wall and slid to the floor, looking up briefly with a snarl before Cameron obliterated it with a single burst from his smartgun.

"Report!" O'Malley barked at Cameron, just as Scott and Cox both entered the doorway.

"It's wasted, sir," Cameron reported as he saw the smoke rising from the dead creature on the floor, its body having been ripped apart by the machine gun fire.

"Affirmative," O'Malley said.

"Sir, what happened?" Scott asked him. O'Malley quickly looked over at Scott. "One of the patients was infected with a parasite. It's dead now."

He then looked at the patients. _As long as they don't eat, they should be fine until we can get them to a medical center. That's what the doctor said. Eating triggers the creature's birth! So we just make sure they don't eat until we can get them operated on by a doctor_ , O'Malley thought to himself optimistically.

O'Malley then quickly contacted Dent and informed him of the situation. "What should we do, sir?" O'Malley asked him. " _Keep them quarantined. I'm going to call for Jonas to fly over here with Rook and land on the roof. Thunder Wing should be loaded with medical supplies. Don't do anything else until I hear back from Jonas. Dent out_ ," Dent replied over the headset.

"Affirmative," O'Malley said quietly as he glanced at the patients. They were trying to cover up the body of their newly departed. It was a sobering sight, to say the least.

O'Malley leaned back against the window pane with a sigh. And then he heard the ping of his motion tracker going off. He raised the device in his hand and saw multiple white dots approaching his team's position.

"Scott! Cox! We've got movement on the trackers!" O'Malley called out to the the two soldiers standing by the doorway. Both soldiers turned to face outward, putting their fingers on the trigger guards of their weapons, but not quite lifting them up to bear just yet.

"Miller, where's Echo team at right now?" O'Malley asked into his headset.

" _We're on our way to you, sir. Just a few minutes and we should be there_ ," Miller said over the headset. O'Malley looked down at his motion tracker again. The dots were about twenty meters away and closing. That seemed almost right by Miller's estimates on their travel time.

Except, of course, for one little thing: There were more than five dots closing in on their position. In fact, there were about ten-no, _thirteen_ dots on the tracker screen as it beeped. Three more dots had shown up on the other side of the tracker as O'Malley moved it around, checking the still frightened patients in the room.

"Oh hell," he muttered as he realized that Fire Team Echo was not responsible for the movement on the trackers. "Attention, all Hornet Squad fire teams! Reset your motion trackers to three-sixty range!" O'Malley barked into his headset. Unlike the previous M314 motion tracker still in use by the Colonial Marines, the updated M315 motion tracker had two ultra-sound detection systems built into it. One aimed directly ahead in a cone, while the second one aimed backwards diagonally. While the system still had a few bugs that could be created when the default settings were changed, the increase in range allowed for a 360 degree field of view without the user having to change the direction of the tracker in order to see all movement around them.

Unfortunately, like the M314, the M315 could still be circumvented by very slow movement and enemies lying patiently in wait. That being said, the detector also came with an adjustable range setting, with the traditional 180 field employed by the M314, and the 360 field that the dual ultra-sound detectors allowed.

"Lieutenant Dent, this is O'Malley! We have movement on our trackers, and it ain't the other squad! Permission to lead the surviving patients to a secure location? Over!" O'Malley spoke into his headset.

"Dent!?" O'Malley yelled into his headset after not receiving a response. He glanced down at the motion tracker and marched over to the doorway, where Scott was checking his own tracker as well. "Sarge, we've got multiple signals inbound, and they aren't Echo Team," Scott said.

"No shit," O'Malley quipped in response.

Soon, the soldiers heard footsteps and saw Private Simmons jogging towards them, with the rest of the fire team and Dr. Kawakita close behind. "Over here!" O'Malley called out, gesturing with his hand for them to hurry up. "I'm Sergeant James O'Malley. You're Doctor Kawakita?" O'Malley asked the panting man.

"Y-Yes. Do you... need a doctor?" Kawakita asked him. "Not me, but these patients do," O'Malley said as he gestured towards the men and women inside the observation room. "Is there any way that you can help them? Is there anything that can be done to remove whatever those things are inside of them? My soldiers can give you protection and buy you time for whatever procedure you need to perform," O'Malley said desperately.

Kawakita looked at the men and women, a somber expression marring his face. "No," he said, shaking his head sadly. "There's nothing I can do for them. Not in here," he said mournfully.

"Bullshit!" O'Malley spat at him, the beeping of the motion trackers constantly building. "You're a doctor! What about your Hippocratic oath!?"

"You don't understand what we're dealing with," Kawakita said in response. "The creatures won't attack _them_ , but _we're_ open game. We need to leave, Sergeant. All of the Bobs are destroyed, and the cleaning we would need to do in an operating room just can't be done under these circumstances. Maybe one of the clinics is still intact, but we have to go now! We need... to... leave," Kawakita said quietly as he grabbed the motion tracker and looked at it with fearful eyes.

"What's wrong?" O'Malley asked him, before he glanced down at his motion tracker. There was a white dot directly behind him, causing him to turn around. There was nothing except the doorway to the observation room.

"Okay. Okay! Okay!" O'Malley said as he forced himself to make a split decision. "Alright, Echo and Delta, listen up! We're moving these people to safer ground. Echo, you'll take point, while we take the rear! Cameron, start moving those people out here!" O'Malley called out as the pings grew closer and louder.

"You said those things won't attack these people, right? Maybe we can use that to our advantage," O'Malley said to Dr. Kawakita. Kawakita simply shook his head. "This is madness," he muttered as he kept looking at the white dots on the motion tracker. Kawakita knew how the creatures moved. He'd seen them in action.

"They're less than ten meters away from us," Kawakita said fearfully as the patients were ushered out of the room by Private Cameron. Specialist Miller took point and began leading the civilians through the hospital, with Kawakita quickly joining him near the front of the group. "Okay, we're gonna make our way to the roof for pickup," O'Malley called out.

"We should be safe up there," he added to assuage the fearful men and women around him.

"Alright, everyone adjust your trackers for the patients! One at a time!" O'Malley called out before glancing down at his tracker. The dots were moving closer. They held a steady pace as they blinked in an out of existence, with each ping getting louder the closer the dots drew to their position. Eight meters left, O'Malley noticed as he glanced around at the hallways of the observation ward.

The creatures should have been visible by that range, O'Malley thought to himself as he saw the dots move closer.

Beep-Beep... Beep-Beep... Beep-Beep... Beep-Beep!

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP!

Moving the tracker, O'Malley saw that the dots were moving from all directions. "Oh, fuck me! Okay, herd the patients back into the observation room! We can use the doorway as a choke point!" O'Malley shouted.

"No! That won't work!" Kawakita exclaimed fearfully. O'Malley looked at the man incredulously. What would a hospital physician know about military strategy?

"Of course it will! We hole up in that room, and the things can only come at us from one direction!" O'Malley retorted. In his mind, the strategy made sense. There were no other entrances into the room aside from the one door, so it was a valid strategy to gather everyone into the room and use the door as a choke point. And, just as well, the windows were several inches thick. They could handle a beating if the creatures tried ramming into them.

"Alright, move 'em back in! Move 'em back in!" O'Malley barked at his soldiers. He glanced at the motion tracker in his hands, and saw that two of the dots were now five meters in front of him, easily within visual distance, yet there was nothing in his field of view. He glanced up at the ceiling, and saw nothing moving.

He then remembered that there was a door in the intersection after room D-O-03, and that was when he heard it open. "Doctor! Are these doors motion activated?" O'Malley called out to Kawakita. "Yes, but we switched them to manual during the attack!" Kawakita responded. He had refused to move into the observation room with the patients, his memory of the attacks and his own abduction preventing him from making the same mistake again.

"So that means someone had to open that door I just heard, right? Some _one_?" O'Malley asked him optimistically. "N-No," Kawakita replied with a gulp. O'Malley's smile quickly faded, before he glanced down and saw the motion tracker displaying multiple dots directly overhead.

Looking directly up at the ceiling, Sergeant O'Malley realized too late just why Dr. Kawakita had proclaimed his choke-point strategy unusable. The ceiling panel opened up and a pair of jet black arms with yellow highlighted pipe sections reached down with lightning speed to grab his right arm and then his weapon, pulling it out of his hands before more ceiling boards and tiles were either moved out of place or pushed out, falling to the floor below alongside several dark and nightmarish shapes.

O'Malley had no time to react as a floor board beneath him was lifted up, toppling him over as two pairs of black and yellow arms, ending in six-fingered clawed hands each, reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into the darkness of the underfloor passages. O'Malley reached for his sidearm and drew it quickly, opening fire at his attackers as he was pulled into the darkness, only to scream as one of them grabbed the weapon and threw it away.

The chaos broke out immediately, with all but Miller and Kawakita falling back to the door of the observation room. Kawakita ran for his life, with Miller quickly chasing after him. "Doctor! Don't go on your own!" Miller shouted as he gave chase, mentally using Kawakita's retreat as justification for his own fearful actions.

"This way!" Cameron called out to his comrades as he followed Miller and Kawakita. "Draw the creatures away from the patients!" he added as he opened fire on one of them, hitting a ceiling panel that fell down at the exact same second, just before another creature descended in front of the first one. It was the first time he had ever missed a target.

Backing up, Private Simmons found herself grabbed by six-fingered hands and hauled up into the air, while Private Christian found her weapon being grabbed and pulled away as she opened fire into the ceiling. Corrosive blood splashed down onto her gun and hit her arm, scalding it. "Aah!" she screamed from the pain before she felt a pair of clawed hands cover her mouth from behind as another pair removed her gun harness. She felt something stinging her in the side as she was lifted into the air.

Private Dirk Applegate quickly backed up as he fired his pulse rifle at one of the dark beasts, hitting it in the head and sending it toppling to the floor. He then aimed at another creature, only to be pushed to the floor as it slammed into him and grabbed his gun, throwing it to the side. "Help! Heeeelllp!" Applegate cried as his arms were grabbed and held in place, while another creature grabbed his legs. He continued struggling, until one of the creatures stung him in the shoulder with a barb on the end of its tail. The xenomorphs quickly carried him away under a floor panel.

In a matter of two minutes, a third of Hornet Squad was captured by the beasts, and the rest quickly retreated away from the ward, telling themselves that they were drawing the creatures away from the patients as their own justification for their fear-based reactions to the creatures.

After all, the creatures _were_ ignoring the patients. Instead of attacking helpless patients, the creatures focused their attention on the retreating doctor and soldiers. After all, the hosts couldn't be used _twice_.

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay, so... yeah, that was a doozy to write. I had initially hoped to get to the action much sooner, but... drawing out the search procedures and building up the dread by detailing all of the post-attack destruction was a bit more important to me. That way, even though you all know that the xenomorphs caused this, the building up serves a purpose. It's why James Cameron didn't just have the aliens pop up as soon as the Marines entered Hadley's Hope.

You have to build up the anticipation. Show what the aliens are capable of doing before showing the creatures themselves. Now, the next chapter will finally feature an all out series of battles between the soldiers and the xenomorphs. And yes, both strains will be present.

Now, for something I wish to discuss regarding the chestburster. First, I know that using a child as a victim may make some people uncomfortable, but let's be honest here. Children were used as hosts in ALIENS too. Remember all of those children seen in the Director's Cut of the film? Remember them? Well, they didn't just stop existing once the aliens attacked. They suffered the same fate as the other colonists... except for Tim Jordan, who is described in the comic series Newt's Tale as being outright killed instead of captured.

And, there's another thing I want to say about the chestbursters. I think that their birth can sometimes be triggered by the hosts' metabolism. See, in ALIEN, the chestburster erupted while Kane was eating. Prior to that, he had been sleeping in a coma, and his bodily functions had obvious been slowed down as a result. After being awake long enough, his body was getting back in gear. Now, that doesn't mean that I think eating is the sole trigger for the birth of the creature.

I think that Kane was a dead man walking no matter what he did, as that alien was going to burst out of him at some point either way, but I do think that the act of eating played a part in the creature birthing when it did. If Kane hadn't eaten anything, he still would have died, but I think it would have simply occurred at a later time.

At the very least, eating and a hosts metabolic rate do play a key role in the T-37 strain that I developed for Hard Heads and this story. Basically, for the T-37 Strain, there is a set incubation period after proper development of the chestburster, usually occurring after the host has become physically active, depending on the host's species. But, when eating, the muscle movement and other body activity from that action can be a signal that the host is in a presumably safe location or environment, which sends a signal to the creature to begin leaving the body. If the host begins eating before that incubation period is over, then the creature births early, otherwise it births after the incubation period is over. Please note, however, that the chestburster is already fully developed after 48 hours, so the creature is not negatively affected by an early birth.

The act of eating also serves one more purpose. It provides an extra nutrients and energy for the chestburster.

Now, another thing that you all noticed is that the T-37 chestburster attacked another host. As I described it, the host had an A22 chestburster inside of him, which is a different strain and hive. A fully developed xenomorph would not make such an attack, but a newly born chestburster will, as it is still an infant.

Much like ants and bees, xenomorphs will take the larvae of other nests or hives and use them as their own slaves or drones after taking over that nest or hive. At least, that's my take on it.

Oh, one other thing I want to point out. Yellow Bill from Hard Heads wasn't a drone. It was an adolescent _warrior_. The _drones_ in this story are... well, they're one of the things that you'll get if you've read the novelization of ALIENS by Alan Dean Foster.

As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.


	6. THE FIRST BATTLE

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

While writing this, I was listening to the soundtracks for _ALIENS_ (of course) by James Horner, _HALO: Combat Evolved Anniversary_ (2011) by Martin O'Donnell  & Michael Salvatori and Skywalker Sound, and _GODZILLA_ (1998) by David Arnold. Now, despite all of the problems that people have with GODZILLA '98, it _does_ have an excellent music score, courtesy of its composer, David Arnold. Three tracks that work especially well are _Baby 'Zillas Hatch_ , _Nick Phones For Help_ , and _Eat The French_.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 06: THE FIRST BATTLE  
**

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2183**

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, LEVEL C**

Corporal Sasha Harrison looked at the screen of her motion detector with apprehension. The white dots moved ever closer to her team's position in the Pediatric Care Ward. "Sarge, we have multiple signals inbound on our trackers!" Harrison reported.

" _Stay sharp, stay focused, and stay frosty. Keep your wits about you and your head on your shoulders, Corporal. Fall back to Rally Point Charlie and meet up with the rest of the squad_ ," Kellogg replied over the comm.

"Affirmative, Sarge. Harrison out," Harrison said before turning off her pulse rifle's safety mechanism. "Okay, lock and load, people!" Harrison called out as she checked her motion tracker again.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

"Quail, Gross, Fernandez! Fall back on me! We're moving to Rally Point Charlie, now!" Harrison called out as she slowly backed up through the hallway. Quail kept his smartgun trained in front of him, with Gross and Fernandez both behind them, or _ahead_ of them as they slowly retreated backwards through the corridor and towards a door that led to a waiting room.

" _This is Fire Team Charlie, we have readings on the trackers in the Maternity Ward! Shit, they're everywhere! They're right in front of us, man! Two meters, but we don't see anything!_ " the panicked voice of Private Kyle Anderson stated over the headset comm.

" _Stay calm, soldier. Stay calm and breathe easy,_ " Kellogg could be heard saying over the headsets. He was apparently trying to keep _all_ of his troops in line. " _Everyone watch your trackers and move slowly. All units fall back to Rally Point Charlie and maintain fire team formations. Watch all flanks and move as a unit,_ " Kellogg continued.

Then gunfire was heard over the comm.

" _They're in the ceiling! They're in the fucking ceiling! Get back! [Pulse Rifle fire] Eat it, darling!_ " Rosario could be heard on the comm, along with a strange elephant-like cry from one of the creatures.

"All units, switch trackers to three-sixty mode, now!" Harrison called out over the comm, just as the white dots on her tracker stopped moving. Backing up against a wall, Harrison aimed her trusty M41B1 pulse rifle at the ceiling tiles above her. "Hold!" Harrison barked as she raised a fist into the air. The gun fire echoed over the comm as she and the rest of Fire Team Bravo held their position in the corridor for several minutes.

Harrison listened as Rosario swore in his native Spanish over the comm, quickly and furiously as he and his fire team fought against the monsters attacking them.

" _Everyone move! Hey, can't you see I've got a gun, pendejo!?_ " Rosario shouted at an approaching creature. He then opened fire, killing the creature as it let out a shriek.

The gun fire soon ceased as Fire Team Charlie escaped their pursuers. Harrison sighed in relief for her comrades, but then snapped to attention once more as she heard a ping from her motion tracker. It was only one ping, but it was enough to remind her that her team was still in enemy territory as she scanned the corridor for signs of activity.

She then noticed a large grate covering a maintenance duct nearby, with twelve black clawed fingers gripping it from within the duct. Something shiny and metallic could be seen behind the metal grate, surrounded by shining blackness and faint yellow specks. Harrison had no doubt that their pursuers were still in the area. They were simply biding their time.

"Safeties _off_ ," Harrison said firmly, narrowing her eyes as she crouched down low and aimed her rifle at the metal grate. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her to keep her eyes on the grate, no matter what else happened. "Quail, watch the ceiling," Harrison barked.

"Got it," Quail replied, just as the door behind the group slid open, causing her tracker to beep again. "Fernandez, Gross, check the room behind us," Harrison said. Both men replied with a 'yes, sir' as they swept the room with their guns.

"Someone turned the lights off," Gross said, remembering that the lights had been on when they had passed through the room earlier.

"Turn 'em on," Harrison said firmly, keeping her eyes and weapon trained on the grate as the twelve clawed fingers flexed slightly.

Gross let out a cry as he was pulled into the darkness, followed by Fernandez shouting before opening fire. "Fuck!" Harrison muttered, just as the creature behind the grate burst forward, exposing itself to her. It matched Detective Hauer's description of the creatures he had fought earlier, and that was all Harrison needed to know before she squeezed the trigger.

A three round burst hit the creature in the head, blowing it apart and causing it to collapse onto the floor, just as the ceiling tiles fell down in the waiting room behind them. Fernandez quickly backpedaled into the hallway as he hit the control panel on the side of the door, closing it. The door quickly opened again, and one of the creature tried to squeeze itself through the widening space.

Fernandez backed up and fired his shotgun at the creature, blowing its left arm off and forcing it to step back, stunned. Another creature pushed it to the side and leapt forward, pushing Fernandez to the floor as he kicked it over his head and it rolled past Quail into the hallway. Another creature leapt through the doorway and grabbed Fernandez's boots, pulling him towards it. He quickly steadied his shotgun and fired right at the collar of the beast, blowing its neck open and spraying himself with its blood.

Fernandez began screaming as the green and yellow blood ate away at his flesh and armor. The one armed creature returned and grabbed Fernandez by the leg, dragging the screaming man into the darkness of the waiting room before another alien closed the door. The faint cries were quickly muffled by the door.

Quail and Harrison, however, were too busy fending off an attack from the front to notice their comrades' demise. "Eat it, motherfucker!" Quail shouted as he fired a burst from his smartgun at the alien crawling on the wall. The creature let out an elephant-like shriek as it fell to the floor. The creatures behind it quickly began retreating, recognizing that their newest prey were more dangerous than what they had attacked earlier.

"They're retreating," Quail muttered. "No, just regrouping. Like _we_ need to," Harrison said. "Fern, Gross, how's our exit?" Harrison asked. "Fern? Gross?" she asked again before turning around to see the acid burns on the floor and the wall. The door was closed once more, and neither Fernandez or Gross were in sight.

Rushing over to the door, Harrison launched her hand at the control panel to open it, shining her flashlight inside to see Fernandez being ripped apart by the monsters. Two of them had ridged heads, while another one had a whitish dome covering its elongated heads. But they were all black and yellow, and they were all tearing her comrade to pieces and... _eating him_.

They were eating the man, the burns on his body too extensive and making him ill-suited for host material. His bones would be collected later on and used as detritus for building more hive material, but for now the aliens simply feasted upon the warm flesh and blood of Private Ethan Fernandez. Private Gross was still nowhere to be seen, as he had been captured intact and, unknown to Harrison and the other soldiers, was on his way to a breeding wall where hosts would be cocooned prior to impregnation via facehugger.

If the sight of the aliens eating Fernandez had the effect of both horrifying and angering Harrison, then the next thing that one of them did effectively sent her into a boiling rage. One of the creatures with the ridged head had torn off the man's right arm and was devouring it with both sets of jaws when it 'glanced' up at Harrison. It paused its chewing before curling its lips into a cruel smile and tilting the arm towards her, _offering_ it to her before returning the bloody stump that was Fernandez's right bicep to its fanged mouth. A combination of revulsion and _pure hatred_ flowed through Harrison as she popped a grenade from her waist belt, pressed on it to activate the fuse timer, and then sent it rolling into the waiting room. She then hit the control panel and closed the door before grabbing Quail and dragging him back down the corridor.

"Sash, what did you just-" Quail was interrupted as the corridor shuddered from the explosion, the door of the waiting room blowing open with a rush of smoke and fire. Harrison forced Quail down to the floor as the horizontal plume of flaming smoke flew over them and illuminated the hall, a rush of heat tingling their bodies before it died down.

Slowly getting back up on their feet, Harrison and Quail both looked at the destroyed waiting room. "I... may have... _overreacted_ ," Harrison said, dumbfounded by the sight. "Really? No shit, Sherlock," Quail snarked in response, glaring at Sasha for her reckless action.

" _Bravo, come in! Bravo, please respond, over!_ " Kellogg barked over the comm. "This is Harrison, sir. Over," Harrison said into her headset. " _What's your status, over?_ " Kellogg asked her. "We lost Gross and Fernandez, sir. Quail and I are still in the Pediatrics Ward, Section Three," Harrison said as she looked at the directions and writing on the walls. It had been blackened by the smoke and fire from the explosion.

" _I've contacted Lieutenant Dent. He's ordering for all troops to retreat from the building ASAP! How soon can you make it to Rally Point Charlie?_ " Kellogg asked.

"I-I don't know, sir. I think I blew up our exit," Harrison replied ashamedly. " _What does that mean? Corporal, what did you do?_ " Kellogg asked in an annoyed tone. "I used a grenade to clear a path between several of the creatures, but... I destroyed the room by accident," she said as she surveyed the wreckage of the waiting room.

Tables and chairs had been splintered and set on fire. Fernandez's body was totally obliterated, and the aliens had been blown to smithereens. Charred and burnt limbs rested on the floor, burning slightly, and at least one head could be seen, its lower jaw torn off and part of its head scorched. Pieces of exoskeleton laid everywhere amongst the debris.

A light flickered overhead, the positioning of its wiring above the ceiling panels ensuring that it had been afforded at least _some_ protection against the blast, although the light itself had been knocked loose. It dangled in the air, slowly slowing down like a pendulum losing its momentum. It was actually kind of mesmerizing, and were Harrison a moth, she would have flown straight to it.

Below the dangling light, however, was a large hole in the floor, exposing a metal latticework underneath the panels. Various wires and pipes could be seen, along with sections of a service shaft. A lone alien's body could be seen kneeling against an open section of the floor, its torso and limbs mostly intact, but its head missing in an almost comical manner as smoke rose from the creature's burned neck.

The creature had clearly just been starting to emerge from the floor when the blast went off.

Tentatively stepping forward, Harrison gently tested the integrity of the room, slowly inching forward until she heard a dreadful creaking and groaning underneath her boots. She carefully backed off, watching as the floor began to give way, the lattice work being the only thing keeping any of it intact as the framework for the floor panels, melted and warped from the heat of the blast, collapsed and gave way to everything above them.

Walking across the room would still have been feasible, if not for the fact that traversing it would take time, and with more of the creatures roaming the hospital, along with the noise of the grenade blast being as loud as it was, Harrison and Quail both knew that the time needed for crossing was not something they could afford if they wanted to live. "Okay, Sarge, how long can you hold out at Rally Point Charlie?" Harrison asked into the mike. She didn't want her squad mates to die waiting for her, but she didn't want to die herself either.

" _We can spare ten minutes at the most, but after that, we're moving to Rally Point Delta. That's the lobby. I'll mark it on the network map for you_ ," Kellogg said. Harrison pulled down her visor, motioning for Quail to do the same. A minute later, the map of the hospital had been pulled up, with both rally points visible on a 3D layout of the facility.

"Intel received, sir. We're on our way," Harrison said over the headset before checking the map for a path to the lobby. "Okay, Quail, there's a small cafeteria and staff room not too far from us if we head back the way we came a few minutes ago," Harrison said as she marked the spot on her map. "Are you game for a little backtracking?" she asked her smartgunner.

Quail reluctantly nodded 'yes' with a sigh as he looked around. "Not like we have much of a choice, do we?" he asked her with a dry smile. "I'm afraid not," Harrison replied, shaking her head.

"Now, you _do_ remember that those things also retreated in the same direction that we're going, right?" Quail then asked Harrison. "Mm..." "I expect to hear a 'yes' Corporal," Quail said.

"Corporal? Hey, I outrank you," Harrison shot back. "Yeah, and who just blew a hole in our quickest escape route?" Quail retorted with a knowing look on his face. Harrison rolled her eyes in response as she frowned.

"Come on, let's get moving," she said as she led Quail back through the hallway. She held her pulse rifle in her right hand while holding the motion tracker in her left hand. The two soldiers slowly began making their way through the darkened hallways of Level C, knowing that they were being shadowed in the distance by a relentless foe.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY GRAND SHOPPING CENTER, AKA "THE MALL", AROUND THE SAME TIME**

Stepping into a Holdell's Books on Level 01 of the North Wing, Fire Team Harpoon immediately noticed a change in their surroundings. Covering the walls around them was a strange resin, black and green and grey in areas. Some portions were deep and intricate, while others were shallow and almost fragile in appearance.

Looking closer, the soldiers saw various appliances, metal scrap, plastic furniture, and even bones and decayed limbs pressed into various locations for structural support of the strangely organic structure. "What the fuck?" asked Specialist Kyra Ferguson as she stared in disgust at the detritus used to hold parts of the resin in place. "This is _not_ natural," she whispered to herself as she held her pulse rifle close to her chest.

The rest of Fire Team Harpoon all held similar sentiments as they walked around the store, noticing the various stores covered with resin. Some of it looked very shiny, as though it had recently been secreted, while much of it looked as though it had been there for at least a good portion of the morning and previous night. The question, of course, was just what had secreted it, and when?

The answer to that came when a strange wet sound was heard nearby. Ferguson silently motioned for her team to fall into standard formation as they slowly approached the cause of the noise inside a lingerie store close to them. It was a strange and disturbing sound, and as the soldiers slowly turned exited the other doorway of the book store, they were welcome to an equally disturbing sight.

Standing just inside the opening of the lingerie store across from them, a strange white and pink creature, almost five feet tall, with an elongated head and a smooth dome covering it, was using an extra long prehensile tongue to secret a liquid version of the resin substance onto a wall before melding it into shape with its clawed hands. It had no visible eyes. It had a strangely exoskeletal body, roughly humanoid in shape, with four strange dorsal protrusions extending from its back, along with a fifth, spine-like protrusion under the back of the head, jutting out from just below the neck.

The creature had three long bony fingers on each hand, but closer inspection revealed these to be six fingers that were closely held together. Despite the fleshy coloration, the whole creature had a strange 'biomechanical' look to it, as though it were both organic and mechanical at the same time; an extreme perversion of the very concept of a cyborg or a synthetic. Nearby, the soldiers saw two more of these albino creatures performing a similar task, only instead of constructing a wall, they were cocooning unconscious colonists onto already established patches of resin. The four soldiers quietly retreated back behind the corner of the book store's doorway to weigh their options and quietly discuss what they had encountered.

"Rook, did you see any of that in the APC?" Ferguson asked into her headset, until she remembered that Rook had stayed in the dropship with Jonas. The APC was... completely unmanned. "Dammit, Mills!" Ferguson hissed in indignation.

"What? What's wrong?" PFC Andrew Jonah asked her as he held is smartgun in a cease-fire position. "We left the APC unmanned!" Ferguson hissed in response. Everyone around her widened their eyes as the sheer stupidity of the decision dawned on them.

"Wow. We really fucked ourselves over, didn't we?" Private Smith asked quietly as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. "Mm... yep," Jonah said as he nodded his head. "So, do we report back or do we stay here and gather intel?" PFC Jiro Sekizawa asked as he glanced around the store, keeping his eyes peeled for more of the creatures.

"Hold on," Ferguson said before tapping her mike. "Corporal Mills, come in. This is Fire Team Harpoon, over," Ferguson said.

" _I read you, Harpoon. What's your status?_ " Mills asked them. "Corporal Mills, we're in Holdell's Books, Level One, North Wing. We've found an... unidentified... life form," Ferguson said with some uncertainty. " _Can you describe it to me?_ " Mills asked her.

"It's... about five feet tall, has a dick-shaped head perched on its neck like the line of a capital 'T', sharp claws on its hands and feet, fangs in its mouth, and no eyes that I can see. It's white in color, maybe albino, given the pink tinge in areas. It's got a curled up tail and... a grotesque looking tongue sticking out of its mouth," Ferguson reported.

" _What's it doing right now?_ " Mills asked her.

"It appears to be secreting a strange resin onto the walls of a store, using its... tongue. Two more of the creatures are... cocooning two colonists," Ferguson relayed.

" _Are they still alive?_ " Mills asked her. Ferguson peered around the corner to get a better look. "Yeah, I think so," she reported.

" _We've just found a resin-like wall of our own in the West Wing. Fire Team India just reported encountering a resin as well from the South Wing. You're the first team to report encountering our mysterious creatures, though. See if you can extract the colonists and then prepare to fall back to the mall's East Wing entrance. Mills out_ ," Mills said.

"Understood. Ferguson out," Ferguson replied over the mike. "Okay, you heard the corporal. Let's try to extract those colonists, and then fall back to the mall's East Wing entrance," Ferguson said firmly. Everyone quietly began moving ahead in formation, with Ferguson and Jonah in front with the smartgun, while Smith and Sekizawa hung back.

Pulling up her motion tracker, Ferguson carefully approached the albino creature as it continued its task. Jonah aimed his smartgun at the creature, his fingers eager to pull the trigger. "Don't," Ferguson whispered to him. Despite walking in plain view of the creature, both soldiers were being ignored by it.

At least, until it retracted its obscenely long proboscis back into its mouth, a slight bulge forming in its pipe-like throat. The drone slowly moved its head up and down, as if admiring its handiwork, which was all the more puzzling given its apparent lack of optical sensory organs.

As it turned to walk away, the motion tracker beeped, and the creature stopped moving. It turned to look at the soldiers approaching it, tilting its head quizzically before turning its head away and moving over to an uncovered section of wall. The bulge in its throat seemed to ungulate for a minute before the creature opened its mouth and slowly extended the proboscis, once more secreting liquid resin onto the wall.

"Well, that's disgusting," Jonah whispered to himself as he watched the drone go about its duty.

"Just keep moving," Ferguson ordered quietly. The soldiers continued moving slowly towards the cocooned colonists, gently brushing past several round clothes line displays as they waited for the other drones to leave. Ferguson held a fist in the air, signaling her team to stop their advance.

The drones had not finished their task, and while the first one may have ignored the soldiers, Ferguson had no desire to provoke the creatures by interrupting them. Even if the drones seemed to be focused solely on secreting resin, they still had fangs in their mouths and claws on their hands and feet. There was no doubt that they could use their natural defenses to deadly effect if provoked.

After another minute, the two drones finished their cocooning process and turned to walk away, moving on two legs like a human, their tails curled beneath them or up onto their backs as they walked towards an open doorway near the back of the room, one that no doubt connected to employee-only rooms and hallways. Once the creatures were gone, Ferguson motioned for her team to move forward again. Craning her neck to look over her shoulder, Ferguson saw that the lone remaining drone was still busy secreting and molding resin on the wall, using coat hangars and even the plastic limbs of a mannequin to help form structural shapes and support as the resin began to slowly harden.

Returning her attention to the cocooned colonists, Ferguson glanced to her right and saw more cocooned people. Unlike the two recently cocooned colonists, these poor bastards already had tan-colored facehuggers attached to them. And, unlike the newest additions, there were several large leathery pods in front of them. The pods reminded Ferguson of eggs in a strange way, although she had never seen an egg with four open petals on the top of it.

Ferguson motioned for Sekizawa and Smith to join her in front of the colonists, before ordering Jonah to watch their rear. Sekizawa opened a satchel on his side and brought out a portable welding torch. He was about to activate it when Ferguson shot him down. "No. We have no idea how this stuff will react to that. It could set this whole place on fire," she told him.

Sekizawa nodded in understanding before stowing the torch back in his satchel. "So, how do we get them out?" he asked her. Ferguson slung her rifle and looked at her gloved hands.

"By hand," she said with a cheeky grin. She, Sekizawa, and Smith quick approached the cocooned colonists before grabbing at their holdings. The resin was still fresh, and it hadn't hardened completely yet, but it was still tough and almost fibrous in a way. It was a son of a bitch to tear apart, bending and only cracking after exuberant effort had been put forth.

"You gotta be _fuckin' kidding_ ," Jonah swore behind them. "What? What's wrong?" Ferguson asked him as she stayed focused on pulling the colonist in front of her out of the resin. "These things can walk on walls and ceilings," Jonah reported.

"They... they can _what!?_ " she asked him in disbelief before briefly turning around to look over at him, her eyes widening in shock as she saw the drone crawling around on the ceiling towards them. Its movements were not swift, and it didn't seem to be in a hurry either. However, it _was_ heading in their direction.

She quickly turned around and resumed breaking the resin around the colonist. The man, dressed in a stained and dirty janitor's uniform that he had no doubt worn while hiding in some dark unkempt closet before being captured, had a blue and purple bruise mark on his shoulder. It reminded Ferguson of a bee sting, and it explained how the man had been captured without any visible claw or teeth marks on him. After all, the tails on the creatures they had seen did have what looked like small barbs on the ends of them.

"Um, Ferguson?" Jonah asked nervously.

"What is it?" she asked him as she pulled the resin off of the man's right arm. She was starting to break a sweat doing this. "Um, it's getting closer to our position," Jonah replied.

"Are its movements hostile?" she asked him as she began working on the resin covering the janitor's torso. "How should I know? I've never seen these things before," Jonah retorted.

"Is it baring any fangs at us? Is it hissing or snarling?" she asked as she pulled hard on a section of already hardened resin. The stuff was tougher than she had anticipated.

"N-No. But... it's almost on top of us," Jonah replied nervously. "Don't do anything unless it attacks us. We don't need to draw attention from its friends," Ferguson ordered firmly.

"B-But, Ferguson. It's right-" "Just stay calm and hold your fire. Don't provoke it," Ferguson snapped as she continued pulling on the resin.

When she was almost finished freeing the man's torso, a white clawed hand reached down and grabbed the resin to put it back into place. Ferguson briefly flinched back in surprise. She hadn't even _heard_ the creature approaching. But then, Jonah should have informed her of its approach. Ferguson looked up and saw the creature diligently focus on trying to repair its comrades' hard work.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Ferguson tried to scan for Jonah, only to see that he was staring at the creature with his smartgun aimed at it, sweat pouring down the sides of his face. He had no idea what to do in this situation, having never been trained for it. None of them had, in fact, and that meant that many of their decisions and actions were going to be blind ones.

"Stay frosty," Ferguson said. "Just breathe easy," she ordered the smartgunner. "Right. Breathe easy," Jonah said nervously as he began to slowly inhale and exhale while keeping his eyes trained on the drone.

Ferguson turned back around again and saw that the creature was already beginning to extend its proboscis. "Sorry pal, but I can't let you do that," Ferguson said before standing up to full height. The drone completely ignored her, its attention focused solely on its present task.

Glancing over at Smith and Sekizawa, Ferguson saw that they were almost finished freeing the other colonist. Returning her attention to the drone in front of her, Ferguson slowly reached for a clothes hangar on the floor and picked it up before throwing it behind her, hitting something loud. The drone stopped momentarily to look up before resuming its task.

Frowning, Ferguson decided to grab at the resin covering the man's legs and began pulling at it, eventually cracking it. The drone stopped what it was doing and retracted its proboscis before angling itself to stare at Ferguson. It reached down to grab at the broken resin, only for Ferguson to grab at the resin of the man's other leg.

This time, the drone reacted, pushing her arm away with one of its own. Ferguson grabbed another piece of resin, only for the creature to finally bare its teeth at her and hiss. It quickly descended to the ground and sat like a dog on all fours, its lips opened to reveal its metallic teeth. Drool dripped from its lips onto the floor below as it slowly weaved its head back and forth in an attempt at intimidation. When Ferguson failed to give any ground, the creature's tail began to uncurl behind it in agitation. Suspecting just what would happen if the creature used its tail on her, the soldier realized that she had only two options, and the first one involved drawing a lot of attention to her squad's position via the application of violence. Option B was the only viable choice, she realized.

When Ferguson finally stepped back, the drone resealed its lips and turned around to resume working on the cocoon.

"Come on, we can't do anything while it's still in here," Smith said as she and Sekizawa carried the freed colonist away from his broken prison. "Let's get out of here and make for the mall's exit," Sekizawa added quietly.

Despite her reservations about leaving a helpless civilian behind, Ferguson had no desire to provoke the alien creature any further. She still knew very little about it, and she also knew that there were more creatures lurking about. She pulled down her visor and marked the location of the cocoons on her map of the mall before slowly backing up and retreating with the others.

Just as they began to leave, Ferguson glanced over at the door from earlier and saw the two drones returning, both of them carrying eggs on their backs, supported by their dorsal tubes and their tails. The one drone was walking on all fours like a monkey or a baboon, while the other one was hunched over as it carried its egg on its back while walking on two legs.

"Where did they get _those?_ " Ferguson asked herself quietly as Fire Team Harpoon retreated from the lingerie store and back into the hallway. Out there, the team saw three more drones milling around, secreting resin onto walls and ceiling tiles further inwards, towards the center of the mall. Watching the relatively docile creatures perform their tasks, Ferguson began to ponder just how these creatures managed to attack the city over night.

Then she realized that these particular creatures were simply docile while in their nest or whatever location it was that they made into their home. _They must simply become aggressive while hunting, and they've already come back from their hunt. As long as we don't piss them off, we should be fine_ , Ferguson thought to herself as her team made their way back through Holdell's Books.

"This is Fire Team Harpoon. Come in Fire Team Gamma. Please respond," Ferguson said in a slightly upbeat manner. The successful rescue of at least one colonist had given her a sense of pride, even if she had failed to secure the second one. " _This is Corporal Mills. What's your situation?_ " Mills asked over the headset.

"We have successfully freed one colonist and are on our way out of the mall," Ferguson reported. " _What about the second one? You said there were two colonists being cocooned,_ " Mills asked her.

"We didn't have the time. One of the creatures began fixing the cocoon while I tried to break it. I didn't want to risk injuring the colonist by provoking the creature," Ferguson replied.

" _Affirmative. Alright, just keep going-what was that? Deckard, you hear that? Shit! The motion tracker!_ " Mills said over the headset.

"Mills?" Ferguson asked with concern.

" _Watch your backs, guys. Look-there! There's two of 'em_ ," Mills said, momentarily forgetting that her mike was still broadcasting to Ferguson and the rest of Fire Team Harpoon.

"Corporal, as long as we don't provoke these things, we should be fine moving around them," Ferguson said.

" _Maybe the ones_ _ **you**_ _encountered, but these guys don't seem so friendly! They ain't albino either!_ " Mills replied over the headset. " _Deckard, watch your three O'clock! Andrews, behind you! Andrews!_ " Mills shouted before gunfire was heard. Strange shrieks and howls could be heard over the headset as Fire Team Gamma engaged the creatures in combat.

" _Mills! Mills, above you!_ " Specialist Clive Deckard's voice could be heard over the headsets as he fired his smartgun in short bursts at an oncoming enemy. " _Mills! No, Mills!_ " Deckard shouted over the headsets as Corporal Mills was grabbed and pulled away by nightmarish figures. " _Stacker! Stacker, to your left! This is Specialist Deckard of Gamma Team, reporting! We have lost Corporal Mills and Private Andrews and are falling back to the APC outside! All fire teams pull out now!_ " Deckard shouted over the headsets.

As faint gunfire could be heard echoing throughout the halls of the mall, Fire Team Harpoon quickly made their way to the nearest stairwell and/or escalator. Pushing through the book store, the soldiers quickly made their way back to the center area where a clean floor and spiral staircase had allowed them to make their way down earlier. Beeps and pings from their motion trackers soon caught their attention as gunfire continued to echo throughout the mall.

Lifting up her tracker, Ferguson saw multiple white dots converging on her team's mobile position. Looking up above, she saw dark skeletal figures crawling along the walls and undersides of walkways between floors. These creatures shared the same biomechanical appearance as the drones, but they were darker in coloration, much, _much_ darker. They were mostly black and black-blue in color, with dark grey and brown patterns and spots seen along their exoskeletons, giving them the appearance of living skeletons in the lights of the mall. Some of the creatures had smooth domes like the drones, while others had more defined heads, with ridges and ribbing lining their cranial structures.

Moving swiftly, the creatures descended upon the soldiers, some of them dropping down from ceilings and then catching themselves on walls like gravity-defying acrobats. The creatures also seemed larger than the drones encountered earlier as well. "Keep moving!" Ferguson shouted, just as Sekizawa slipped on something and fell over, taking the colonist with him.

Turning around, Jonah saw two warriors quickly making their way down the walls. He steadied his smartgun and took aim. Seeing that the creatures hadn't yet approached them, Ferguson was about to urge Jonah to hold his fire, but it was too late. Jonah opened fire at the aliens, hitting one of them as it crawled along the ceiling. The beast screeched as its torso exploded in yellow and green blood before falling to the ground some feet away.

The second alien bounded along the wall quickly in an attempt to flank Jonah. Jonah was faster, though, and the alien fell to the floor as its left arm and chest exploded from the smartgun's fire. "Jiro, come on!" Smith called out up ahead as she opened fire with her tactical shotgun, hitting one alien several dozen meters away as it climbed down a wall towards them.

As Sekizawa got up and carried the colonist with him, something large and fast quickly approached the team. Jonah barely had time to react as the grey blur sped past him. Following the creature with her eyes, Ferguson saw another alien, but this one was different. It lacked the dorsal protrusions found on the other creatures, and its limbs were longer. The back legs were digitigrade in form, and there appeared to be some kind of padding on the bottom of them, like a canine.

The creature had a ribbed head just like the warriors, but its tail had a sharp blade on the end instead of a barb. The creature hissed at Sekizawa before two more such creatures raced down the hallway. Smith fired her shotgun at the incoming targets, hitting one of them in head, blowing it to pieces as it skidded and rolled over on the floor just a few meters away from the rest of the fire team.

The first runner turned to look at Smith, before Jonah aimed his smartgun at it. The creature quickly swung its bladed tail at the smartgunner's weapon, scratching the heat-resistant barrel but cutting into part of Jonah's harness. Jonah fired at the creature, hitting it from a meter away. The creature's left arm exploded as it screamed, before Jonah fired another burst, hitting the head and sending green and yellow blood and guts everywhere, including Sekizawa's right leg.

Smoke began to rise as the corrosive blood began eating away at Sekizawa's knee and shin guards, burning him as he tried to take them off. "M-My leg! Oh, God, my leg!" Sekizawa cried out in pain as the alien blood burned into his calf. Meanwhile, the third alien had escaped the soldiers' attention, and quickly snatched the colonist away from Sekizawa, carrying the still-unconscious man away from the team.

Jonah aimed to shoot at it before Ferguson stopped him. "No! You kill it and the colonist dies! Look at what their blood does!" Ferguson snapped at Jonah, pointing at Sekizawa before rushing over to help pull him up off the ground and carry him with an arm around her shoulders towards the stair case.

Private Smith quickly cleared their path as they made their way up the stairs, the sound of gunfire from the other teams drawing closer as they reached the second floor of the mall. "Come in, Rook! Rook, or Jonas, do either of you read me!?" Ferguson asked, just as Sekizawa was pulled from her grip.

Glancing back, Ferguson saw a black-blue warrior with a domed cowl pulling the injured Sekizawa back towards the stairs as more of its older brethren crawled up behind it. "No! Sekizawa!" Ferguson cried out as Sekizawa tried to un-holster his sidearm to defend himself. However, the blood from earlier had also misted the holster, warping the metal clips.

"Help! Heeeeellllp!" Sekizawa cried out as the creature pulled him down the stairs. Ferguson moved to rush back, only for Jonah to grab her by the shoulder. "We have to keep moving!" he cried, only to find himself being grabbed and pulled up into the air mere seconds later by an alien that had snuck past them. Ferguson and Smith both ducked as Jonah opened fire wildly with his smartgun, shattering the windows of nearby stores and hitting one alien crawling on a wall by sheer accident before another alien sped across the ceiling and tore the weapon away from the panicking man.

Glancing around and preparing to help Jonah, Ferguson saw movement out of the corner of her eye and fired her rifle at an alien that was crawling out of the broken window of a toy store nearby. She looked around and saw more creatures crawling through the darkened and shattered windows of the otherwise closed stores and saw several more climbing up the stairs and stalking towards her and Smith. Ferguson mentally counted the number of creatures approaching her and shook her head in grim realization.

"F-Fuck!" Ferguson spat as she turned tail and ran alongside Smith. The two women continued running, with Ferguson stopping only once to fire her pulse rifle's underslung grenade launcher at the hoard of aliens chasing after them. The creatures, having not yet encountered high-powered explosives during their previous attacks, studied the small metal cylinder as it rolled on the ground in front of them.

Seconds later, a blinding white heat enveloped them as the grenade exploded, tearing several of the creatures apart and burning others who quickly retreated.

"Rook, Jonas! Come in, please!" Ferguson cried into her mike. The situation had quickly spiraled out of control as she and Smith continued running towards the East Wing exit doors.

" _This is Rook. What is the current situation, Specialist Ferguson?_ " Rook asked her politely. Somehow, this politeness pissed Ferguson off something fierce. "We've suffered casualties and need evac! Prep the dropship and return to the parking lot of the mall!" Ferguson cried out as she glanced over her shoulder while still keeping pace with Smith.

" _Understood. I'll help Jonas begin starting the dropship immediately. Help is on the way_ ," Rook said reassuringly over the headset. "Thank you!" Ferguson cried joyously. She had never been so happy to hear Rook speak in her life.

* * *

Outside of the dropship, Technical Officer Michael Rook quickly adjusted his headset as he ran over to the ramp. "Jonas, we need to prepare for immediate dust-off. Do you read me?" Rook asked into the mike. When there was no response, he frowned. "Jonas? Jonas, can you hear me?" Rook asked again.

Something was wrong, Rook realized as he slipped on something in the ramp. Catching himself, he looked down at his boot and saw a strange slime-like substance on the ramp. Jonas's lack of response and the slime were connected, Rook figured out in milliseconds.

Reaching for the sidearm holstered to his waist, Rook activated his defensive subroutine program that allowed him to use small arms under specific circumstances. It was a very specifically tailored program that very few people knew about, and very few synthetics had ever received it. Because of the relative peace and quiet of Blue Gemini, Rook and a few other synthetics stationed at the army bases on the planet had been selected by Weyland-Yutani to receive this programming, with permission from the military commanders overseeing the colony's security.

Walking along the then ledge around the still-extended ramp, Rook, opened the door to the cockpit and stepped inside, seeing that Jonas had disappeared, and there was more of the slime substance marking the small aisle between the front and back pilot seats. "Jonas? Jonas!" Rook called out as he exited the cockpit and ran down the ramp, searching for signs of his comrade. "Jonas!" Rook called out again. There was no response. He hadn't been away from the dropship _that long_ , had he?

Either way, Jonas was gone, having been taken alive by the nightmarish beasts that Bear Squad was fighting against inside the mall. Furrowing his brows, Rook quickly turned around and ran back up the ramp, closing it before making his way into the cockpit and settling down in the pilot's seat. Using data stored in his memory, Rook required almost no time to re-familiarize himself with the controls and instruments of the dropship's main pilot seat as he began the takeoff sequence and lifted the machine into the air.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL...**

Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg checked his ammo counter before removing his empty magazine and inserting a fresh one into his pulse rifle as he and Private Marlon Warner secured the lobby of the hospital. They heard boots on the ground and saw Fire Team Charlie arrive in the lobby completely intact. If only his own fire team had been so lucky, with Specialist Gorch having been captured and Private Sid Jenkins being killed when one of the creatures exploded in front of him, spraying his whole body with its corrosive blood.

Kellogg had used his own gun to put the dying man out of his misery before he and Warner had successfully escaped the remaining monsters. "Fire Team Charlie reporting," Rosario said as he approached Kellogg. "Where are Jenkins and Gorch?" he asked Kellogg.

"They didn't make it," was Kellogg's simple but bitter reply. Rosario solemnly nodded his head in understanding. "Have we heard anything from Bravo?" Rosario then asked Kellogg.

"Harrison and Quail are taking the scenic route back here. Apparently, one of them blew up their primary escape route by accident," Kellogg spat, clearly still in disbelief over what Harrison had told him earlier. Rosario looked at him questioningly.

"What about Hornet Squad?" Private Stewart asked Kellogg.

"Unknown. I haven't heard from O'Malley yet," Kellogg replied with a sigh. A few minutes later, footsteps were heard running through the hospital, causing the soldiers in the lobby to raise their weapons. They then lowered said weapons when the source of the footsteps was a doctor being followed by Specialist Miller.

"Specialist Miller! Where's Sergeant O'Malley?" Kellogg asked the man. "He's gone!" Miller exclaimed. More boots were heard, followed by gunfire approaching the lobby from a hallway.

Kellogg and the others watched as fire teams Delta and Falcon, minus O'Malley and Private Shaw, entered their field of view. Corporal Trudeau and Private Andersmith were both laying down suppressive fire with their M16A12 assault rifle and M56A2 smartgun, respectively. The screeches of their pursuers could be heard in the distance as the gunfire echoed through the hallway and into the lobby.

Corporal Trudeau quickly swapped out an empty magazine for her rifle before inserting a fresh one and firing away in short bursts once more. When she was satisfied that the last of their pursuers had either been killed or retreated, she turned and made her way into the lobby to meet the others. "Corporal Elizabeth Trudeau reporting, Sergeant Kellogg," she said between pants.

Kellogg regarded her with a nod of his head before looking over at the lone civilian in the lobby. "You; what's your name?" Kellogg asked the man. "I'm Doctor Haruo Kawakita. I'm the only surviving staff," the man replied shakily.

"Okay, do you know how many more of these things there are in the building? I have to more soldiers unaccounted for on Level C, and I need to know how long we can wait for them," Kellogg said. Kawakita shook his head.

"I-I don't know. I don't know how many of them there are right now. I know there will be at least another thirty or forty in a few hours. Either way, we can't stay here," Kawakita replied.

"Okay, Corporal Trudeau, you're in charge of Hornet Squad now, but as the ranking officer in this building, I'm ordering you to have this civilian escorted to one of the APCs for safety. I'm gonna check in with Bravo and find out how long we need to wait for them," Kellogg said firmly.

Trudeau nodded her head in understanding before ordering Private Cameron and Private Scott to escort Doctor Kawakita outside to the nearest APC. The two men nodded in affirmation before urging the doctor to follow them, with Scott taking point and Cameron covering the rear. Kellogg waited until the trio had exited the lobby before calling Harrison on his headset.

"Attention Fire Team Bravo, this is Sergeant Kellogg. Please respond, over," Kellogg said into the mike. " _This is Harrison, Sarge. We've run into some resistance on our new path, but we're still alive,_ " Harrison replied over the headset.

"How long will it take you to reach the West Side Lobby?" Kellogg asked her.

" _Let me check the map_ ," Harrison replied. Kellogg waited a minute before Harrison spoke again. " _At least ten minutes if-Quail, on your right!_ " Harrison shouted. Gunfire was heard in the background, followed by a screech from an alien.

" _They just don't stop! Um, it'll take us about ten minutes if our new friends keep interrupting us_ ," Harrison said. Kellogg furrowed his brows and frowned. He felt around for his spare ammunition before counting only one magazine left for his pulse rifle.

"Everyone count your spare ammo!" Kellogg called out to the soldiers in the lobby. "Okay, Harrison? I can give you ten minutes to get down here before we have to pull out. I want radio contact every couple of minutes for status reports along the way. Over," Kellogg said into the mike.

" _Affirmative. Harrison out_ ," the corporal replied on the other end. Kellogg sighed before hearing gunfire coming from outside. Turning around, he and the others saw Private Cameron engaging multiple aliens in the street with his smartgun.

"Son of a _bitch!_ " Kellogg swore, just before several ceiling tiles began to shudder and fall to the floor inside the lobby, with multiple nightmarish figures following suit.

 **OUTSIDE IN THE STREET**

Private Joseph Cameron fired another burst at the black and yellow creature darting over behind a parked car nearby. Private Scott had just managed to get Doctor Kawakita into the APC when the creatures made their appearance. Glancing to his right, Cameron saw one creature trying to flank him. He quickly swerved, his gun moving along with him as an extension of his body, and sent a hail of bullets into the biomechanical beast.

Meanwhile, inside the APC, Specialist Tabitha Franklin was already preparing to backup and drive the vehicle over onto the sidewalk to provide immediate extraction for the surviving soldiers. "Just hang on, guys!" Franklin called out to Private Scott and Dr. Kawakita. Kawakita simply nodded his head quietly and strapped himself into a seat while Scott stood over by the door, waiting to pull it open after Franklin gave the word.

"Just let me-aah!" Franklin cried out as a black and yellow arm smashed through the windshield and lacerated her face. Franklin grunted in pain as she lost control of the APC, spinning it around as she tried to both throw the creature off, her sight of the road via windshield and the computer screen blocked by the clawed hand lashing at her face. Kawakita screamed in terror and Scott lost his balance as Franklin spun the APC out of control at increasingly dangerous speeds through the street.

Out in the street, Cameron had just enough time to notice the APC weaving dangerously out of control before it made a sharp turn, the rear of the vehicle slamming into him and sending him rolling on the street with his weapon. The pain and shock soon caused Cameron to black out, and the impact had broken his armor and his ribs, as well as causing significant trauma and internal bleeding. The last thing he saw before blacking out was slightly cloudy blue sky above his head, the white puffs of cumulus in the sky peaceful and serene compared to the chaos on the ground. Then his world went black.

Meanwhile, Franklin kept trying to throw the alien off of the vehicle, her sight of the road obscured, when she slammed the APC into a light pole, knocking the metal object off balance and throwing the creature off of the vehicle with its inertia. Franklin quickly put the vehicle in park after she had slammed her face into the steering column. She was suffering from severe whiplash as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

" _Franklin! Franklin, please respond! Franklin, this is Lieutenant Dent! Please respond, over!_ "

Franklin blinked groggily as she heard Dent's concerned voice over the APC's radio, just before the door was opened from the outside, Scott having foregone locking the doors when he heard Tabitha's plan. Wincing in pain as she craned her neck to see who was entering the vehicle, Franklin felt her ear drums rumble as Kawakita screamed in fright. Stepping into the vehicle were four nightmarish figures, all dark in coloration, but lacking the yellow highlights of the creatures that had attacked earlier.

One creature had a whitish domed head, with the others had ridged heads. All four were mostly black with shades of brown and grey in almost dirty industrial patterns over their bodies, like living pieces of mechanical equipment. Coloration aside, they were almost identical to the black and yellow aliens, except that the heads of the black and yellow beasts were slightly boxier, slightly steeper in slope in the front, and slightly more robust in shape, but one could only tell if looking at the creatures side-by-side.

Sluggishly reaching for her sidearm, Franklin watched as one of the creatures stepped in her direction. Pulling out her pistol, she aimed at the creature and squeezed the trigger, hearing a click as the safety mechanism prevented the weapon from firing. " _Shit_ ," Franklin swore as she cumbersomely tried to turn off the safety, her head still spinning from the crash.

The creature nearest to her let out a hiss as it parted its lips and revealed its metallic teeth, snarling at her. Franklin paused in fright as the creature's mouth opened to reveal another, smaller set of jaws nestled within before slowly extending said pharyngeal jaws outwards in a threatening manner and lunging forward. Franklin screamed as she managed to get off a single round at the creature before it overpowered her.

Meanwhile, Scott and Kawakita were both taken from the floor and harness, respectively, by the remaining creatures before they retreated from the APC, disappearing into an open sewage maintenance hatch nearby.

Back closer to the hospital, Dent watched the scene from inside his APC with horror. The gunfire out in the lobby of the hospital soon quieted down, before he heard a knocking sound on the door. Grabbing the SMG he had stowed nearby, Dent walked back over to the operations alcove of the APC and looked at Kellogg's video feed. The man was still inside the lobby with the other soldiers.

Stowing the SMG, Dent grabbed the M16A12 that Quail had stashed in an overheard compartment earlier and quickly checked it before reinserting the magazine and flipping off the safeties. He grabbed a small peephole cover on the door of the vehicle and opened it to see a black skeletal creature standing outside. Dent quickly ran over to a supply cupboard and retrieved an armored vest, slipping it on before grabbing the assault rifle again.

The creature outside knocked on the door again, and Dent crouched down parallel to the door and unlocked it before positioning the rifle perpendicular to him. He quickly slid the door partway open and fired a burst from the weapon, keeping himself covered mostly by the door as he heard a screech from the alien outside. He fired another burst and received one more screech before sliding the door shut and locking it.

Dent then took off the armored vest and leapt into action, placing himself in the driver's seat of the APC and driving the vehicle forward, edging it as close to the sidewalk as possible and parking it so that the door was facing the lobby entrance. "Kellogg, this is Dent! Get out of the building _now!_ I've got the APC parked just outside, so move!" Dent barked into his headset before leaving his seat and rushing back over to the door, unlocking it and keeping the assault rifle in his hands.

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, EAST-SIDE LOBBY...**

Sergeant Kellogg nodded his head as he heard Dent's orders. "We need just a few more minutes sir! Harrison and Quail are on their way! We can't leave them!" Kellogg responded into his mike.

" _You've got two minutes! These things are already venturing outside, Sergeant! The second APC is already down! If we stay here too long, none of us will be making it back to the base, now MOVE!_ " Dent barked sternly.

"Affirmative," Kellogg replied sourly. He then tapped his mike to call Harrison. "Bravo Team, you've got two minutes to get down to the lobby! What's your status!?" Kellogg asked them.

" _We can't make it in that time! We've run into a road block at the stairs! Just go without us! We'll find another way back!_ " Harrison shouted over the headset.

"Harrison, I'm not-" " _Just go! We'll be fine! Don't sacrifice anyone trying to wait for us! If you're overwhelmed, just go! We'll make it back to the base on our own. Harrison out!_ "

Kellogg rolled his eyes in indignation and snorted. "God damn it!" he swore. "Okay, we're pulling out! Everybody head for the APC! Come on, let's go!" Kellogg barked at the remaining soldiers in the lobby. Kellogg stayed in place with Andersmith to provide cover fire for the retreating soldiers as they exited the building.

When the others had left, Kellogg and Andersmith both fell into place covering the rear. Kellogg could already hear Dent shouting for the soldiers to get into the APC behind him as he scanned the perimeter for more monsters. He glanced upwards and saw one creature leaning out of an open window, observing the group as they raced across the sidewalk and piled into the armored transport.

Kellogg aimed his weapon to fire, only to have his attention pulled by Dent shouting his name. "Sergeant, get your ass in here! Double time, move!" Dent shouted at him. Andersmith was already entering the APC when Kellogg finally broke into a sprint and leapt up beside the man, helping him stow his weapon as Dent closed the doors and locked them in place.

The APC was crowded, half of its passengers standing up while the others sat in safety seats with harnesses. "This is Dent to Grass Cutter, do you read, over?" Dent called over his headset. "Come in, Grass Cutter, do you read, over!?" Dent asked again.

" _This is Grass Cutter. I read you loud and clear, El-Tee. What's happening?_ " Lewdanksi asked over the headset.

"We have suffered casualties and are in need of immediate evac! Where are you parked?" Dent asked him. " _We're on the second police station's roof top. What's your position, over?_ " Lewdanksi asked in response.

"We're just outside the Diamond Bay Primary Hospital. Can you meet us out in City Block C, near the education centers?" Dent asked, seeing that C-Block had the shortest buildings, thereby decreasing the risk for the pilots when they neared the ground. " _I'll land just outside of... the K-Twelve Primary School. It's got a lot of grass and a big empty parking lot. Should be perfect for a pickup,_ " Lewdanski responded.

"Good. We'll meet you there," Dent said as he returned to the driver seat and strapped himself in. "One more thing. Have you heard from Bear Squad yet? We've had no radio contact with Jonas or Rook since they dropped them off," Dent asked worriedly.

" _I heard Rook say that he was going to pick up Bear Squad a short while ago. He said that Jonas went missing, but he didn't elaborate any further,_ " Lewdanski said. Dent shook his head as he realized what that meant.

"What about Leaf Clipper? What's their status?" Dent asked. " _They're on stand-by. Just spoke to Newark about ten minutes before you called_ ," Lewdanski reported.

"Call them again and tell them to get in the air and stay there. We have hostiles on the ground and they are _lethal_. They can also climb on any surface, so stay in the air until you see us at the school. Do not set down to wait. I say again, stay in the air until we arrive and then lower your ramp when I give the order. Dent out," Dent said into his mike.

He then hit a series of keys and buttons on the dashboard for the APC's guidance system and watched as a map appeared on the screen in front of the steering column. The path to the Primary Education Center was highlighted with a red line through a 3D line graph layout of the city's streets. A very simple bit of imagery, but with the proper coordinates displayed on the screen, it was all he really needed to get from point A to point B. Dent took the vehicle out of park and hit the gas, sending the APC moving down the street.

Meanwhile, standing up in the back of the APC, one of his hands grasping a hand rail to stabilize himself, Sergeant Kellogg breathed in and out to calm himself. He craned his neck to glance over at the observation monitors. He hated his decision, even if Harrison had pretty much volunteered to stay behind so that the others could escape. The only things that brought him any solace were the constantly steady vitals on the bio-readouts for the two remaining members of Bravo Team. Kellogg looked closer at the camera footage from the two soldiers' helmets, his eyes darting back and forth rapidly as he tried to take in both soldiers' views almost simultaneously.

Sitting in the chair next to the monitors was Corporal Trudeau, the now defacto squad leader for what was left of Hornet Squad. "Corporal Trudeau," Kellogg said, grabbing the woman's attention. She looked at him curiously. "Keep an eye on those vitals, please. They're still in in there, and they're both still alive," Kellogg explained.

Trudeau nodded her head before turning to face the observation monitors, both her and Kellogg's eyes glued to the first person views of Harrison and Quail making their way through the infested corridors and rooms of the hospital. Everyone in the APC remained silent, with the only other sounds being the occasional beep from the screen up in the steering column as Dent drove them to safety. Everyone was grateful to be alive, but they knew better than to think that they were in the clear. After all, they still had to board the dropship, and they had a ways to go before that would happen. By this point, the surviving soldiers knew that anything could happen in the interim.

Suddenly, though, an idea popped into Kellogg's head. He turned to look up at Dent. "Dent! Lieutenant! Call the Leaf Clipper! We've still got two soldiers back in the hospital, intact!" Kellogg shouted.

"Say _what!?_ " Dent asked him incredulously. "Harrison and Quail! They're both still alive and armed! Call the Leaf Clipper and have them wait on the hospital roof for them!" Kellogg shouted before switching on his helmet's squad-mike. "Harrison! Bravo Team, can yo hear me, over!?" Kellogg asked into the mike.

" _Oh, God fucking DAMMIT! Kellogg, you FUCK! You just alerted them to us!_ " Harrison snapped over the mike as gunfire was heard in the background, along with the screeches of the creatures now attacking the two soldiers. Ignoring the blatant backtalk from a subordinate, Kellogg silently cursed at himself what he had just done. Still, he had contacted them for a reason.

"Harrison, make your way to hospital roof! Dent is contacting the Leaf Clipper in hopes that they can wait around and pick you up later," Kellogg said as he glanced up at Dent, who was already talking to the dropship's pilot over his own headset. " _Sarge, there are eight levels to this place above ground! [Gunfire] We have to traverse five more levels of hell, and not all levels are a single floor! [More gunfire] Shit, Quail, above you! [Gunfire again] Two more to your left! Move, on my right! On my right! Never mind! Back the other way! Back the other way!_ "

" _Sarge, when we make it back to the base, you'd better hope that I don't find you before shut-eye!_ " Harrison threatened over the headset. "Just do your best, Harrison. Kellogg out," Kellogg said before turning off the mike. He looked back over at the monitors for Harrison and Quail, seeing the battle raging in the hospital corridors as her heard Dent arguing with the Leaf Clipper's crew.

Kellogg just silently hoped that he hadn't gotten more of his soldiers killed in an attempt to save them.

After all, _anything_ could happen.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was Chapter 06 of ALIENS: EPIDEMIC. Let's see, we had both XX121 A22 xenomorphs _and_ XX121 T37 xenomorphs, just like I promised. And don't worry, the instance with the one chestburster attacking a host in the previous chapter is not the full extent of the "conflict" that I promised between the two sub-species. I'll have far more detailed skirmishes between warriors of both hives in later chapters.

As you can tell, I've already included warriors, runners, and now the albino drones from James Cameron's original script for ALIENS and its novelization. And yes, the T37 strain will have its own version of the albino drone as well. There are also a few more surprises I have in store for you, the readers.

Now, as I wrote this, I've also been watching various scenes from ALIENS, both cuts, and it just occurred to me that when Hudson announced the location of the colonists and the Marines departed for the atmosphere processor, no one bothered to question if it would be safe to have weapons fire in there _prior_ to actually entering the facility. Hudson said loud and clear that the colonists were under the _cooling units_ in Sub-Level 3, so that should have been something for the Marines to discuss prior to embarking. It just... never occurred to me before now.

That being said, Gorman's orders for the Marines' retreat, despite his ineptitude at given them, were actually somewhat... sensible. Lay down a suppressing fire with the incinerators and fall back by squads. Using the flamethrowers to cover their retreat was a sensible order. Too bad Apone couldn't hear half of the order and everybody else was running around in chaos.

Something else that recently occurred to me is that in most ALIEN films and stories, the xenomorph lunges at an opponent and then extends its inner jaws to attack. In ALIENS, the xenomorphs extend their inner jaws and _then_ lunge for the attack. Watch the scene where Ferro is killed, the scene where Burke gets his comeuppance, and the scene where Gorman and Vasquez are trapped in the ducts. In each of those sequences, the alien extends its inner jaws _before_ attacking. Has anyone else ever noticed this?

As always, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.


	7. PERILOUS JOURNEY

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

This chapter was written was listening to the soundtracks for GODZILLA (1998) by David Arnold, Blue Gender (1998 - 1999) by Kuniaki Haishima, Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori, and DIE HARD (1988) by Michael Kamen.

From BLUE GENDER: _Sleeper_ , _Cold War_ , _Bluff_ , _Tetany_ , _Escape ID_ , _Jargon_ , _Marine_.

From DIE HARD: _Wiring The Roof_ , _Tony And John Fight_ , _Going After John_ , _Under The Table_ , _Welcome To The Party_.

From HALO: _Lament For Pvt. Jenkins_ , _Devils... Monsters..._

From GODZILLA (1998): _Eat The French_ , _Phillip Shoots The Lock_.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 07: PERILOUS JOURNEY  
**

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2183**

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL, LEVEL C**

Corporal Sasha Harrison and Specialist Donovan Quail stopped just short of a corner at a T-junction that stood between C-P-12 and C-M-01, the Pediatrics and the Maternity wards, with an elevator located right between the two hallways. Peering around the corner to her left, Harrison checked for signs of enemy activity.

There was no movement. The hall was empty and devoid of life. Keeping her motion tracker out, Harrison then glanced over to her right, checking the other hallway. The coast seemed clear.

"Okay, let's move," Harrison said quietly. Quail wordlessly stepped around her, his smartgun aimed forward into the hallway. Quail glanced up and down at the ceiling for missing vent covers, just to be safe. Behind him, Harrison kept her motion tracker held out, glancing up and down, left and right, everywhere all at once and in between. If she and Quail had learned _anything_ in the past hour, it was that the creatures had an almost unnatural ability to appear from just about anywhere, even places that had just been thoroughly checked scant seconds earlier.

Fortunately, the black and yellow creatures easily stood out against the solid whites, blues, and greens of the hallway floors and walls in the hospital's pediatric and maternity wards.

Slowly stepping forward, Quail kept his smartgun trained slightly upwards towards the ceiling, as the creatures had shown a preference for attacking from above, where their prey seemed the least inclined to check for danger. Even though humans had forward facing eyes, being predatory omnivores, they still suffered from a habit of only checking left and right for danger. Keeping himself leaning back slightly as he moved forward, to aid in his aiming upwards, Quail did indeed glance to his left as he and Harrison slowly approached the window of a dark waiting room.

Glancing inside, Quail took in the sight of the empty chairs and receptionist desk as he reached up and slid his visor down, switching on its low-light environment setting as he examined the room more intimately. There were chairs and low-end tables arranged throughout the room, with a flat-screen television screen hanging on a wall near a door that led further into the offices and rooms of the section.

Lining the wall, just beneath the window, was a book shelf filled with information booklets for mothers, expecting mothers, and women looking to become pregnant. Glancing upwards, Quail could only see part of the ceiling, as the window was only so high and he was reluctant to press his head against the safety glass. The steady hum and low-volume blips of Harrison's motion tracker behind him offered a small amount of comfort as he and Harrison slowly passed by the waiting room.

The steady quiet of the motion tracker also informed the duo of the lack of patients in the building. On any other given day, there would be at least a dozen or more mothers or pregnant women in the waiting room, waiting to be examined by a licensed doctor and an assistant, usually a nurse or a doctor in training. Today, nobody was in there. The waiting rooms for the maternity ward were usually closed down prior to nightfall anyway, meaning that it was highly unlikely that anyone had been in the room or even the offices during the previous night's attack.

However, there were still multiple rooms where patients stayed for overnight observations during various periods of their pregnancies. Those rooms were located in a section of the ward several meters up ahead, past an intersection between multiple blocks within the ward. An uneasy feeling began creeping up Quail and Harrison's spines as they neared that section of the building.

The duo slowly crept through the ward, making as little sound as possible as they followed the path on Harrison's visor map to a new exit point, on the building's roof. Following Kellogg's disastrous interruption of their careful attempt to sneak past several of the creatures earlier, Harrison and Quail had switched their headsets to private link mode before turning them off and seating the mikes up and away from their faces. Slowly moving past an open door to an overnight observation room, Quail glanced inside and saw five expecting mothers lying in cots... with pink and yellow facehuggers attached to them.

Shaking his head in dismay, Quail forced himself to continue moving, allowing Harrison the chance to see the grim spectacle in the room as she backpedaled against him.

For the next thirty minutes, Harrison and Quail made an agonizingly slow creep through the corridors until they reached an all-level elevator. "Okay, we'll use the elevator shaft to reach the roof," Harrison said quietly as she searched for something to prop open the doors of the elevator. "Quail, there's a maintenance closet right over there. Guard the door while I see if there's something that we can use," Harrison said before quickly sprinting over to the closet.

"Wait, I thought the elevators were shut down in an emergency," Quail pointed out as he stood guard at the elevator.

"I didn't say we were using the elevator, Quail. I said we were using the elevator _shaft_ ," Harrison clarified with a grin. "We're gonna climb up using the maintenance ladders and then wait for the Leaf Clipper on the roof," she elaborated.

Quail slowly nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah, but... how do I carry _this_ fucking thing up there with us?" he asked her, gesturing to his smartgun with a roll of his head. "Lose it," Harrison suggested. "You did remember to bring a backup weapon, right?" she asked him as an afterthought.

"Well... I did manage to sneak an A-Twelve assault rifle into the APC, but... it's still in the APC," Quail said sheepishly.

"What about an SMG?" Harrison asked him. Quail shook his head, causing her to frown in response. "You didn't bring _any_ backup weapons with you!?" she hissed at him.

"Aside from my sidearm? No. I wasn't counting on climbing ladders in an _elevator shaft_ ," Quail retorted.

Harrison shook her head with a sigh before carefully opening the supply closet, a strange stench emanating from within giving her pause, to reveal the corpse of a dead SWAT officer. The man had a pistol in his gloved right hand, with a sound suppressor attached to the barrel. His brains were splattered across the wall and his otherwise dark blue helmet and uniform.

Down on the floor next to the wall was an SMG, and lining the dead officer's vest were several pouches with ammo magazines. Smirking, Harrison began sifting through the dead man's uniform and taking whatever supplies she could find, including flares, a spare knife, a lighter, and a flashlight. Grabbing the body and leaning it towards her, Harrison soon saw a crowbar in the back of the closet and reached for it, retrieving the heavy metal object as quietly as she could before heading back over to Quail and handing him the SMG and spare magazines.

"Think you can ditch the clunker now?" Harrison asked Quail quietly as she checked the currently inserted magazine of the SMG before sliding it back home. Quail took the weapon and slung it over his shoulder. "Get the doors open and we'll see," Quail said, not letting go of his smartgun until he knew had no other choice.

As much as he disliked the weapon, it had definitely been keeping him alive. It also fired armor-piercing rounds, something that he doubted the police SMG was loaded with. He was reluctant to give up a certified life-saver while he could still hold onto it.

Meanwhile, Harrison was busy prying open the doors of the elevator, slowly and carefully so as not to make too much noise. Every few seconds, she would pause and glance around, checking her motion tracker for signs of movement, knowing that even though she was being quiet, the opening of the doors would eventually catch the tracker's attention, and so she still needed to keep her wits about her. Standing just a foot away, Quail kept his gun trained on the hallway, slowly aiming his smartgun back and forth, up and down, in a very deliberate pattern over and over again as he scanned the hallway around them.

 _Creeeaaakkk-CLICK!_

The elevator doors soon slid open as Harrison pushed them apart, setting off the motion tracker for a brief moment. She and Quail both scanned the hallway, their eyes and ears open and alert for the slightest sound or sign of movement. Both soldiers held their breath as they waited for the inevitable resumption of movement on the tracker.

After almost three minutes, Harrison slowly entered the elevator car and began working on opening the hatch to the car's roof. "Quail, do you see anything out there?" Harrison asked as she slowly unlocked the hatch and pushed it open, earning another short ping from the motion tracker hanging from her shoulder. Quail shook his head in response as he slowly backed into the elevator, his eyes darting to and fro in a frantic dance.

"Is the shaft clear?" Quail asked Harrison as he kept his smartgun aimed forward. "Hold on," Harrison answered as she lifted the device up and watched its screen. A small white ring expanded from the center of the blue screen, much like a sonar screen, with a quiet 'blip' as the device checked for movement around them.

Turning on her flashlight, Harrison looked up and scanned the interior of the elevator shaft for signs of the creatures. The shaft was dark and dirty, but most importantly, it was devoid of biomechanical monsters. Quietly inhaling and exhaling in relief, Harrison glanced down into the car at Quail. "We're in the clear. Drop the baggage and get up here," she said quietly as she pulled herself up onto the roof of the car.

Quail carefully disengaged his harness and lowered both it and the gun to the floor. He kept his eyes facing the hallway before he sharply turned and grabbed the hand rails of the elevator, stepping up and grabbing Harrison's gloved hand as she reached down to help pull him up. Once Quail was safely on the roof, Harrison slowly pushed the hatch back down and turned the outer locking mechanism ever so slightly.

Slinging her pulse rifle, Harrison quickly made for the service ladder and began climbing. Quail followed suit after Harrison was far enough up the ladder. Checking her visor map, Harrison grinned as she and Quail began their journey upwards to freedom and, hopefully, safety.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001...**

Sitting back in a chair, Captain Burt Rosenthal rubbed his temples as he processed what he had just heard from Lieutenant Dent over the long-range comm system. Looking around the otherwise empty communications room, Rosenthal reclined in his chair and kicked at a desk. "Fuck!" he swore sharply with a frown.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY, C-BLOCK...**

Lieutenant Dent looked at the monitor in front of his as he drove closer to the K-12 Education Center. "Grass Cutter, this is Dent. Are you in position?" he asked over his headset.

" _We're standing by, Lieutenant. But, are you sure that this is a smart idea?_ " Lewdanski asked over the comm. "We can't risk you staying on the ground too long," Dent replied. Looking up ahead through the windshield, he saw the dropship in the air as it began to descend vertically.

"Okay, Lewdanski, on my mark, prepare to lower the ramp," Dent said into his mike as he drove forward. He checked the screen in front of him before switching to another view setting. He could see the dropship lowering its ramp as it got closer to the ground, with small numeric markers and rulers on all sides of the screen. He switched to a targeting system for the gun turret and made sure that the safeties were locked.

"All right, the magic moment," Dent muttered as he began slowing down. The dropship's ramp was practically touching the ground now. "Lewdanksi, bring the dropship forward, but keep on the ground," Dent said. " _Are you fucking crazy!?_ " Lewdanski retorted over the comm.

"Yes. Now do it," Dent ordered as he brought down the APC's speed. The two vehicles moved towards each other slowly, with the APC maintaining speed until the dropship was almost on top of it. "Okay, Lewdanski, keep the dropship still," Dent ordered as he raised the steering column ever so slightly. The front of the APC raised itself by a hair as it continued slowing down, giving it enough space to begin climbing the ramp into the dropship.

"Lewdanksi, close the ramp," Dent ordered as he pulled the vehicle onto the ramp in its entirety and stopped it, earning a slight jostle for his efforts from the inertia. Dent felt the shift in the vehicle's balance as the ramp slowly close upwards back into the belly of the dropship. "Okay, take us home," Dent ordered before letting out a breath of relief.

Grass Cutter slowly pulled up into the air and ascended vertically, eventually making its way over the roofs of the city's tallest buildings as it flew out over the suburban islands.

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY PRIMARY HOSPITAL...**

Harrison grunted as she pulled herself up next to the final set of doors for the elevator shaft. "We're almost outta here," she said to Quail as she located a small open-faced supply cabinet next to the ladder and between the door. She held out her motion tracker for a brief moment to check their surroundings.

There were no signs of activity beyond the doors.

Slinging the tracker back to her side, Harrison grabbed the crowbar out of the cabinet and prepared to open the doors. She had just managed to get the thin tip of the metal tool in between a small crack in the two doors when she heard the chains of the elevator begin to move. Both soldiers glanced downward, using their helmets' flashlights to see the elevator slowly ascending towards them.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Quail muttered in incredulity. "I thought we were the only ones left in the building. Who else is still here to use that thing?" he asked rhetorically. "No idea, but they've got some explaining to do when we greet them," Harrison said as she began prying the elevator doors open.

Quail watched as the elevator car rose upwards.

"C-Come on!" Harrison grunted as she slowly forced the doors apart, almost losing her grip before steadying herself.

The elevator car drew closer.

"Uh, Sash? You'd better hurry," Quail said nervously. "I know," Harrison replied as she eventually heard a clicking sound. "Gotcha!" she whispered in excitement before she pushed the doors open. "Quail, come on!" Harrison urged as she heard her motion tracker beeping.

The elevator car was pulling up to them.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Quail responded as he climbed up and almost leapt over to the doorway, following Harrison. Just as Quail set his first boot on the doorway, he turned to gain better leverage, and slipped. Harrison lunged forward and grabbed him as he fell away from the elevator doors, keeping one of his feet on the ledge.

Heaving with all her might, Harrison pulled backwards and brought Quail forward, landing on her back with Quail falling on top of her in the middle of the hallway. Seconds later, the elevator car arrived, and the outer doors closed in before opening again. Harrison and Quail both quickly rose to their feet to greet their guest, only to feel dread and horror as they saw just who, or rather, _what_ had been operating the elevator car.

"Son of a _bitch_ ," Harrison spat in disbelief. The black and yellow creature inside the elevator curled it lips with a sadistic grin, revealing its metallic teeth before stepping forward. "Quail... run!" Harrison snapped. "Follow the waypoint!" she exclaimed as she waited for the alien to exit the elevator car. She didn't want kill it when it was still in the car and ruin yet another escape route if the roof proved to be unusable, especially since Quail's smartgun and harness were still lying on the floor of the elevator car behind the creature.

Quail stayed alongside Harrison. "No, not on my own," he said. "That's an order," Harrison barked at him, raising her pulse rifle at the alien as it stepped out of the elevator. "Sash, we both stand a better chance of survival _together_ ," Quail pointed out.

"You know, we're not that far from the roof. We can make it if we run," Quail said as the alien continued stepping towards the two soldiers. Harrison and Quail both backed up slowly to match the creature's walking speed. When it was fully removed from the elevator car, Harrison finally opened fire, sending two short bursts at the creature.

The alien let out a mechanical sounding shriek as the bullets tore into its torso and neck, sending it falling back onto the floor. "Okay, let's run!" Harrison exclaimed before turning around with Quail. The two soldiers lowered their visors and followed the map to the roof, turning left and right at each corner before finally reaching a set of stairs that led to the roof.

Harrison and Quail quickly ran up the stairs before pushing the door open and running out onto the roof. It was still daylight outside, and the two of them could see the Leaf Clipper flying in the distance. "Come in, Leaf Cutter! This is Corporal Harrison! We are on the roof, do you read me!?" Harrison asked into her mike.

" _I read you, Corporal. Hold your position and wait two minutes. We're on our way,_ " Newark replied over the comm. Harrison smiled in joy and relief as she and Quail saw the dropship making its way to their position.

"They're coming! They're coming to get us!" Harrison cried out in joy as she grabbed Quail by the shoulders and pointed to the approaching dropship. Quail nodded his head before frowning at something past Harrison's shoulder in the distance.

"They're not the only ones," Quail said grimly. Turning around, Harrison saw what had soured Quail's mood. At least three black and yellow creatures were climbing up over the safety rails that lined the roof. Harrison raised her pulse rifle and fired at one of them, sending it falling back, its blood hitting the rails and corroding it.

The other two creatures leapt away in opposit directions. Quail raised his SMG and opened fire at one while Harrison fired at the other. The 9mm rounds of the SMG bounced off of the armored exoskeletal hide of the alien, with sparks flashing now and then as it curled its lips and snarled at him. Firing repeatedly in short controlled bursts, however, allowed Quail to eventually subdue the creature, as each burst eventually wore it down and allowed the final barrage to tear through its hide.

The other creature went down with an almost mechanical howl as Harrison used up her last rounds of ammunition in two short bursts. She quickly ejected her empty magazine and grabbed a spare from her waist belt before inserting it into the holder and chambering a round. "Quail, how much ammo you got left?" Harrison asked as she scanned the roof top for more of the creatures.

"Uh... three rounds left in the sub, and... one spare magazine. How about you?" Quail asked her in response as they both backed up against each other. "I've got one spare mag left. Kinda surprised I've got even that much left at this point," she replied with a sigh.

"Can we hold out until they get here?" Quail asked Harrison. Harrison looked around, searching the roof for more signs of the creatures. There were multiple fire escape ladders on the North and South sides of the roof, and the building itself had a square section in the middle that had a garden for patients and visitors. A small tool shed was located near the spinning tops of the air conditioning system, along with vents for smoke from the kitchens and a satellite dish for long-range communications over by the East end of the roof.

There was a landing pad as well over by the North end, where an abandoned M78 Raven sat by itself. The vehicle was adorned with the dark blue colors of the SWAT unit that often used it. "Think we can just take that instead?" Quail asked Harrison.

"Naw. That thing would never get us to the base without needing to stop and refuel. Besides, we don't even know how much fuel is left in it to begin with," Harrison replied.

"You're probably right," Quail said with disappointment in his voice. The duo resumed scanning the rest of the roof top as they waited for the dropship to arrive. Soon, the tell-tale sound of the vehicle's turbines brought a sense of relief to both soldiers, and they watched eagerly as the vehicle circled the roof of the hospital before a door opened on the side and extended a small stepping-ramp as it skirted the side of the roof.

" _Don't just stand there, numb-nuts! Get over here and hop aboard!_ " Newark called playfully over the comm. "Yes, Ma'am!" Quail replied with a smile as he and Harrison began jogging over to the edge of the roof. The dropship was holding its position next to a fire escape. They had almost arrived when a series of black and yellow clawed hands appeared on the fire escape ladder.

The alien quickly climbed up the ladder and leapt onto the stepping ramp, clambering along the ramp and pulling itself up before disappearing inside the dropship. "Newark! One of the creatures is in the dropship! One of the creatures is in the dropship!" Harrison cried out over her mike.

" _Parker! Get your gun and watch the door!_ " Newark barked. Harrison listened as Parker's voice replied in the background, before she saw two more creatures launch themselves upwards from the side of the building and climb up and over the surface of the dropship. " _Jesus Christ! Harrison, Quail, just hold on while I shake these guys off the dropship!_ " Newark called out as the vehicle began to ascend into the sky and circled around the roof again, tilting back and forth as the pilot attempted to throw the creatures off.

" _Watch what you're doing, Newark! I can't-oh shit!_ " Parker's voice cried out as he was jostled around inside the cockpit. Harrison and Quail watched with anxiety and fear as the dropship began to spin around in the air before flying away, still tilting left and right as the creatures crawled around on the surface, their movements neither hindered nor encumbered by the erratic flight of the vehicle.

"Newark! Newark!" Harrison cried out, before Quail grabbed her by the shoulder. "Sash, we've got company again!" Quail called out to her as he pointed out the multiple black and yellow creatures rising up over the side of the roof. Some of the creatures had whitish domes on their heads, while others had black and yellow spotted ridged heads. Three of the creatures, however, were leaner and larger than the others, and they lacked the dorsal protrusions found on their comrades.

Their hind legs were digitigrade, with their front hands being structured more similarly to a dog or a cat's front paws than a human hand like their humanoid brethren. Only one of the three had a dome on its head, and it was completely transparent, its existence only known from how the light reflected off of it at certain angles. Their tails were different as well, being positioned and swaying around like a four-legged animal's tail, instead of being curled up on their backs or under their legs like the other creatures. Their tails also ended in large blades, unlike the barbs found on the common creature.

Their heads were mostly the same as the others, but slightly narrower on the sides, and not as wide from a frontal view. Their lips were also less primate-like and more canid or feline-like as well, just ever so slightly, and their jaws had similar structuring to such creatures as well. Subconsciously, Sasha drew the connection between these particular creatures and the attack on the Wilhelm Farm.

"Sash? Do you think we'd make it to the Raven if we ran right now?" Quail asked her nervously as he pushed his back against hers and aimed his SMG at the creatures around them. "Sasha?" Quail asked her again. "I... I'm thinking," she replied, keeping her pulse rifle aimed at the creatures.

"We could probably _reach it_ , but I doubt we'd be able to start it in time," she finally replied.

" _Great_ ," Quail said sardonically.

"Well... I do have a few more grenades on me," Harrison said.

"Are you _trying_ to get us both killed?" Quail asked her in disbelief. "You can die by a grenade or by these things. Which would you prefer?" Harrison asked him in return. "Fuck dying! I wanna live!" Quail snapped back at her.

"Then let me use a little incentive to make them back off," Harrison said with a grin as she reached for a grenade from her harness and armed it. "Hey, who wants a present!?" Harrison called out to the creatures before throwing the grenade at the edge of the roof and darting away, pulling Quail with her as they ran for the roof's entrance door.

The creatures immediately gave chase, with some of them leaping over the grenade just as it went off. Harrison and Quail had just made it to the roof's entrance door when the explosion went off, forcing both soldiers to grab the door and pull it shut, holding onto it as the force of the explosion railed against it. They then quickly resumed their trek down the stairs.

"Where do we go now!?" Quail asked Harrison as they ran through the halls of the hospital again. "The elevator! It still works!" Harrison replied as she took out her motion tracker and looked down at it. "Visor, mark a waypoint for elevator!" Harrison snapped into her mike, pulling down her visor and suggesting to Quail that he do the same.

The visor quickly uploaded a map of the hospital before showing the waypoint of the elevator.

"Quail, when we get to the elevator, grab your harness and get the smartgun ready!" Harrison ordered. Quail nodded his head in affirmation of the orders as he kept pace with Harrison. The motion tracker soon let out a ping, showing a white dot on the bottom of the screen, somewhere behind them.

The duo continued running, turning corners as fast as they could without falling over. "Just a few more meters," Harrison grunted as she and Quail soon turned around another corner. The motion tracker let out a series of pings behind them.

"Shit!" Quail swore as he heard the motion tracker. The duo soon arrived at the open elevator doors, running around the dead alien on the floor and hurrying inside. Harrison quickly pressed the buttons to shut the doors and take them down to the first floor.

Meanwhile, Quail hurriedly struggled to put his harness back on and lift up his smartgun before they arrived at their destination. Harrison had to sling her pulse rifle and help him snap a few clips into place along the sides of the harness before Quail could safely maneuver the weapon again. "Don't get rid of that SMG," Harrison warned.

The elevator slowly made its way down the levels of the hospital, the numbers and letters of the floor lighting up and then darkening as they were passed.

Harrison and Quail both took deep breaths as they prepared themselves for their arrival at Level A. The small LED above the doors showed each level and floor as they got closer to their destination, before it stopped at Level A. Both soldiers held up their weapons and aimed them forward as the door chimed with its stop.

Harrison gulped nervously as the doors opened with a hiss, while Quail furrowed his brows and closed his eyes before opening them again. The doors slowly slid open, and both soldiers anxiously waited for them to fully part, revealing whether or not they had truly escaped. When the doors finally reached their zenith of directional opposition, an empty hallway greeted the two soldiers.

Harrison held out her motion tracker for a minute, scanning for movement. "Okay, let's go," she said before rushing out of the elevator with Quail by her side. The duo quickly ran out into the hallway and looked over at a map on the wall. Checking the map on her visor, Harrison performed a cross-reference before marking a waypoint on their map for the lobby.

"Okay, we just need to head West and we'll reach the East side entrance lobby. Right where we came in," Harrison said. "Wait... head West to reach the East... is that right?" Quail asked, slightly confused.

"Look, I'm not the one who labeled the damn thing, okay?" Harrison retorted, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"I didn't say that you were, it's just-" BEEP-BEEP!

Harrison and Quail both glanced down as Harrison brought her motion tracker up. A small cluster of white dots were closing in on them as the pings an beeps increased. "We can discuss the semantics of proper directional labeling later," Harrison quipped before bringing her rifle up to bear and aiming it forward as she and Quail began jogging through the halls.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

Quail kept his smartgun aimed in a cease-fire position as they ran. He listened intently to the constant pinging and beeping from the motion tracker as he and Harrison cautiously peered around a corner and resumed jogging through the darkened halls of the hospital, seeing signs of the most recent fire fights between their comrades and the aliens. Both soldiers kept their visors down as they followed the waypoint on the map.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

Turning another corner, the duo came upon a bloodied helmet on the ground and a discarded pulse rifle nearby. Quail quickly knelt down and grabbed the weapon, slinging it over his shoulder before he resumed his jog. He then noticed that the magazine slot for the gun was empty, and he quickly discarded it back onto the floor. "Just my luck," he growled in contempt before he placed both hands back on his smartgun, making sure to stay light on his feet as he followed Harrison through the corridors.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

"We're almost there," Harrison said as they neared a directional sign for the lobby at an intersection. "We're almost-fuck!" Harrison spat as she slipped on something slippery. Rolling onto her side to let her armor absorb the impact, Harrison quickly pushed herself back up and kept her hands on her pulse rifle as she looked around. "Sash, are you okay?" Quail asked her as he glanced around the intersection, the beeps from the motion tracker never once letting up.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

"Yeah, I just... slipped on... something," Harrison said as she looked down at the blood on the floor, along with the slime nearby. "What the fuck?" she asked, noticing that the blood wasn't dried or a stain. It was fresh, and puddled on the floor. She then looked down at her armor and saw the wet red smudges.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

The beeping of the motion tracker made it difficult to hear, but there was a dripping sound as blood fell to the floor, drop by drop. Looking up at an open maintenance duct, the duo both saw an arm hanging out of the opening. It was moving as well, as though the body it was connected to was being shoved around. A tearing sound could be heard, as though flesh was being ripped from the unseen body.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

Aiming their flashlights up into the opening, the duo saw a flash of black and yellow as something in the vent fed on the corpse. Harrison raised her pulse rifle, only for Quail to put a hand on her shoulder as he listened to the beeps of the motion tracker increasing their speed and volume. "Come on. They're already dead," Quail said, shaking his head. Harrison reluctantly nodded her head in agreement before following Quail as they resumed their jog, turning off their flashlights to conserve battery power.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

"Keep moving! We're almost there," Harrison said as she and Quail turned a corner before nearing a T-junction. The front lobby wasn't too far. Taking another corner, the duo broke into a sprint as they saw the hallway doors that marked the lobby.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP...

"Yes!" Harrison let out with a grin. "We made it! We made it! We-oh, hell!" she exclaimed as the doors were pushed open from the other side, revealing at least a dozen black and yellow monstrosities.

The creatures bared their teeth and hissed at the duo, some of them showing burn marks from being near the grenade on the roof. "Shit!" Quail remarked before he lowered his smartgun and aimed it at the group of aliens in front of them. He opened fire and sent the creatures scattering behind the doors and leaping up to the ceiling and walls.

"We gotta go back!" Quail exclaimed as he heard the beeping of the motion tracker increase. "No! We're almost there! We-" "We won't make it! There are too many of them!" Quail interrupted. The doors were pushed open again, this time by chairs the creatures were pushing forward with their heads as shields.

"These things learn fast, don't they!?" Harrison quipped as she and Quail turned around and ran back down the hallway. Quail fired his smartgun at the creatures in bursts, seeing the ammo-counter on his visor give him a worrying read-out. He was running low, and he hadn't brought any spare ammo containers for the smart gun, since it already held an extremely large number of rounds in it to begin with.

The fact that the creatures were learning to use various objects to draw his fire and make him use up his ammo before hitting them was especially concerning.

As Quail provided covering fire on their rear, Harrison searched for another exit on the map displayed by her visor. "Come on! Come on! There's gotta be another-ah-ha!" Harrison hissed victoriously. "Quail we're going down to the lower levels! There's an entrance to the sewer system down there," Harrison relayed as she uploaded the waypoint onto her and Quail's maps.

"All ri-wait, the _sewers!?_ We might as well just kill ourselves if we're going that way!" Quail responded as he fired another burst from his smartgun at the approaching beasts, tearing a chair apart to reveal the creature behind it. He fired another burst, this time blowing the creature's white domed head open and sending its blood spraying out onto the floor and walls.

The creatures behind it soon dispersed and made their way into various maintenance ducts and rooms lining the hallway. Quail wanted to grin at the fact that the monsters had fled, but he knew better by now. They were simply looking for other routes to follow their prey.

Following Harrison and the waypoint on his visor map, Quail backpedaled towards an intersection. "This way!" Harrison urged as she took a right turn and kept going straight before taking a left turn and approaching a busted door. Harrison turned on her flashlight as she looked down the stairwell, searching for signs of the creatures before opening the busted door the whole way.

"Quail, hurry up!" Harrison barked as she began descending the stairs, flicking on a light switch to show a relatively unscathed stairwell, with hand rails lining the stairs still intact, albeit stained with white synthetic blood. The two soldiers briskly descended the stairs, with Harrison letting Quail move ahead of her so that she could guard the rear. Her pulse rifle was easier to handle on the stairs than Quail's smartgun was for him.

"Okay, where's the sewer entrance?" Quail asked after he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, carefully stepping around a dismembered Bob unit next to the foot of the stairs. Harrison quickly checked the map on her visor, before seeing the door labeled 'Maintenance Hall' over to her right. "There," she said, pointing at the door with her gun. Quail once again took the rear as Harrison moved forward.

"You sure?" Quail asked Harrison as he glanced over at the door. "Yeah," Harrison replied with a nod of her head. "And just where exactly do we plan on leaving the sewers? Didn't the police say that they closed all of the maintenance entrances earlier?" Quail asked.

"They said they closed the maintenance entrance for the police stations. They didn't mention anything about the rest of the city's maintenance passageways," Harrison replied as she took out her motion tracker. The device had gone silent since they'd descended the stairs, which brought both relief and anxiety to the corporal.

Walking up to the door, Harrison pressed the button on the side panel, causing it to slide open. The motion tracker let out a brief ping as it registered the noise, and then became silent once more. Glancing inside the dark hallway, Harrison turned on her helmet's flashlight and looked around. She held the motion tracker out once more and started creeping forward. Quail slowly followed behind her, closing the door after he had entered the hallway.

The two soldiers slowly crept through the darkened hallways, making as little noise as possible, with the ambient hum and faint blips of the motion tracker filling their ears. It was a slow walk, but neither of them were willing to attract unwanted attention at this point. Eventually, the duo reached a door to a maintenance office.

Inside the office was another door, which opened up to reveal a short staircase that fed into a management office for the city's sewer system. Carefully closing the door behind them, the duo searched the management office for a map of the sewer system, turning on the office's lights to aid in their search. "Come on, there's gotta be a map in here somewhere," Harrison grumbled as she looked around.

The room was a mess, with a tipped over chair on the floor, half-eaten candy bars and empty wrappers on the floor, papers scattered all over the place, a broken data tablet under a desk, and bloodied hand prints smeared on the walls. Small puddles of slime coated various surfaces, making the task of searching rather unpleasant. Looking up at a desk, Harrison saw a small networked terminal and LCD screen. There was a keyboard and a mouse attached to the small terminal point.

Carefully moving the mouse around, Harrison caused the screen to flash before it opened up to reveal a login screen. "Fuck," she muttered in frustration. Harrison quickly crouched down and looked underneath the desk before seeing a piece of paper taped to the underside. Harrison smirked as she read the password written on it before getting back up and logging in to the computer.

Meanwhile, Quail kept his smartgun in a cease-fire position, but he held it slightly forward as he looked around at the safety-glass windows of the small office, taking in the sight of the comm system on the wall nearby, along with a rack for helmets and safety gear. A small open locker held a series of pornographic images taped to the inside of the door and the locker's interior, along with a half-empty box of tissues. Nearby, a First-Aid kit adorned a spot on the wall.

Accessing the city's maintenance network, Harrison pulled up the infrastructure plans and looked at the plans for A-Block. A series of interconnected maintenance walkways and tunnels lined almost the entirety of the sewer system. Checking on the status of the maintenance entrances and flood doors, Harrison saw that both police stations had their access routes highlighted as FLOOD-READY, meaning that all of the doors and hatches were closed and sealed in the event that a flood would raise the water level in the sewers.

Scanning further along into B-Block, Harrison found that a few other management offices were still unlocked under various stores and restaurants. Cross-referencing the office locations with the city's above-ground layout, Harrison soon made note of three viable exits. She quickly added them to her visor map and the battle network.

"Okay, Quail?" Harrison asked as she turned around. "Yeah?" Quail asked her. "Check your visor. I've got a waypoint and a map. Let's get the hell out of here," Harrison said.

* * *

 **INSIDE DROPSHIP #02...**

Corporal Hank Parker watched as the last of the creatures fell into the air and caught itself on the side of a building below. "Well... at least they're off," he muttered. "Newark, we're clear!" Parker shouted as he closed the side door of the dropship and made his way back to the cockpit.

"That's _fantastic_ ," Newark replied dryly.

"Is something wrong?" Parker asked her as he took his seat and strapped himself in.

"Yeah. We're running low on fuel. We have just enough to get us back to the base if we head back now, otherwise we have to put down somewhere... out here, if we stay any longer," Newark relayed. Parker checked the fuel gauge on his panel.

"Aw shit," he muttered. "We used up a lot of fuel with those maneuvers tryin' to get those things off of us," Newark stated. "No shit. What about Harrison and Quail?" Parker asked in response.

"I... I don't know. I think I saw a Raven parked on the roof of the hospital when we got close. Hopefully, they've managed to get themselves airborne," Newark said.

"Can a Raven get them back to the base?" Parker asked, having never flown one of the smaller vehicles before.

"Hell no, at least not without them stopping to refuel along the way," Newark replied, shaking her head.

"How long would it take them using the Raven, counting fuel stops?" Parker asked worriedly.

"Um... if they went at top speed? I'd say... one and a half hours. But that's only if the damn thing has a full tank before they take off. I mean, they _could_ make it to the base without stopping if that thing's got a full tank, but... honestly, I don't really know at this point," Newark said regretfully.

"So... how much longer can we stay out here?" Parker asked her, not wanting to give up on the two left-behind soldiers just yet.

"Five minutes, and then we _have_ to head back to base. We can refuel there and then come back out afterwards," Newark replied. Parker nodded his head. "Okay. Five more minutes," he said with grim acceptance.

Five minutes later, the dropship turned around and slowly made its way back to the base.

* * *

 **THE SEWERS OF DIAMOND BAY, B-BLOCK...**

Slowly following the waypoint on their visor maps, Harrison and Quail carefully stopped just behind a corner. Harrison held up her motion tracker and scanned for signs of movement. Seeing nothing on the screen, Harrison stowed the device and carefully peered around the corner of the walkway. The next management office and exit to the surface was less than twenty meters up ahead, but even that did not comfort Harrison as she saw what else occupied the sewer channel in front of them.

Lining the walls and ceiling was a secreted resin, with blacks, greys, and greens making up its color palette. Various bones, both human and other animal, could be seen stuck and fused with the resin in various spots to help give structural support to it. The ceiling had a very odd, almost ribcage-like feel to it, and the entire area had a biomechanical appearance, thanks to the resin.

"What the hell is this?" Quail asked, disturbed by the sight.

"I... I don't know," Harrison responded quietly as she looked around.

Scanning the various detritus within the resin, Harrison saw at least one M39A SMG, along with a Marine's helmet. Slowly stepping further inside, Harrison and Quail saw the cocooned bodies of various colonists attached to the walls. On the floor, several dead facehuggers could be seen, curled up in rigor mortis. Carefully kicking one over, Harrison saw that they were the pink and yellow kind, but they were pale from death, and their colors faded.

Checking the waypoint on the map, Harrison realized that she and Quail would have to make their way through the horrifying cocoon walls in order to reach their destination. "Just keep quiet, and no firing unless absolutely necessary," Harrison ordered quietly. Quail silently nodded his head in affirmation as he followed Harrison through the nest.

Various colonists, including civilians and police officers, lined the walls. Some of them had their limbs bent and broken in order to fit in certain spots. Most of them had agonized expressions on their faces, and a cursory glance at the gaping holes in their chests told Harrison and Quail all that they needed to know. A few colonists, most likely recent captures from the previous night and early morning, still had facehuggers attached to them.

Lining a few spots on the walls were some colonists who were not cocooned as hosts, but instead were halfway inside what looked like odd partially-formed leathery pods. Three already opened pods could be seen next to a few dead colonists, some of whom also appeared to be half-eaten. Some were missing entire limbs, while others were missing parts of their faces, stomachs, and legs.

It was a ghastly sight, and it made Harrison's stomach curdle. Taking a closer look at the developing pods, Harrison saw holes in the heads of some of the colonists enveloped by them. They looked as though they were being transformed or consumed by the pods, but Harrison couldn't figure out which option was the correct one. By this point, she didn't really care.

All Harrison cared about right now was getting herself and Quail out of the sewers and back onto the streets.

Looking around even more, Harrison noticed a few cocooned Marines, all of whom had facehuggers attached to them. She grimaced and slowly shook her head at the sight, before noticing a female marine enveloped in the partially formed pod on the floor. The panicked police officer's words began to resonate now.

 _They took the live ones first!_

Looking over at the other wall, Harrison saw something unusual about its structure. Staring at it for a few seconds, she began to notice the contours and jutting shapes that resembled hands and fingers, legs and arms, a rib-cage and an elongated... head. It was one of the creatures, curled up in the wall, almost invisible by virtue of its camouflage.

Even with the jet black coloration and yellow highlights standing out from the dark grays and greens and faded blacks, the creature meshed with its environment seamlessly. Her eyes darting around in all directions, Harrison began scouring every inch of the resin surface around her for more creatures. " _Quail_ ," she whispered, catching the smartgunner's attention.

"What is it?" he asked her quietly. Harrison pointed over at the wall where the creature was slumbering, watching and waiting for Quail to finally notice it. "What is it? What am I looking for?" Quail asked Harrison.

"Right there, in the wall. Look at the dome," Harrison said, pointing at the creature. Quail squinted his eyes until he finally made out the shape hidden in the wall. He quickly began positioning his smartgun. " _No! No!_ " Harrison whispered, holding an arm out in front of Quail.

"But-" "I think it's sleeping. Just... don't open fire. There are probably dozens more in here, all camouflaged like that one. Fire a single shot... and we're dead," Harrison said quietly, her stern gazing piercing into Quail's eyes. Quail slowly nodded his head in affirmation and understanding, finally realizing just how close he had been to fucking both of them over with his fearful reaction.

"Come on. Just keep moving, quietly. We can make it if we're careful," Harrison said quietly to Quail, who glanced around before nodding his head in agreement. The two soldiers slowly resumed their trek across the maintenance walkways of the sewer system, keeping their eyes peeled for more creatures buried in the walls amongst the detritus and cocooned civilians, police officers, pets, and occasional Marine. It was a grim sight, horrifying and sickening, yet also peculiar and fascinating at the same time.

Looking around, Harrison saw that many of the dead colonists showed signs of decay and consumption, indicating that they had been down there for quite some time, well before the previous night's attack. _How long have these things been down here? How did no one notice this before now?_

A dozen questions swarmed through Harrison's head as she inspected the partially-eaten corpses stuck to the resin walls and ceilings. Looking up, Harrison saw at least two ridge-headed creatures resting on the ceiling above her, their clawed hands and feet tightly gripping various parts of the resin and even holding into small hand-holds carved with their own claws, adding extra stability to their perches as they remained clinging to the resin through other means. The dorsal tubes on the backs of the creatures were what gave them away to Harrison, along with the yellow highlights against their otherwise jet black and black-blue hides.

Unslinging her motion tracker, Harrison carefully adjusted the volume, lowering it so that it would produce a much softer sound at a smaller decibel. If anything were to cross their paths, she wanted to make as little noise as possible before reaching the surface. Both her and Quail's survival depended upon it.

Slowly but surely, the duo traversed the sewer nest as they followed the waypoint on their maps. Every now and then, they would come across another sleeping alien embedded in the wall or ceiling. Some of them lacked the dorsal tubes found on others, and had longer bodies. Remembering the various pets seen cocooned alongside the humans, Harrison and Quail began to suspect that the creatures' appearances varied depending on their hosts.

Harrison began putting the pieces together in her mind, as did Quail. _The face creatures attach themselves to a host. Then, they deposit an embryo inside the victim and wait for it to... I don't know, grow to a degree before falling off and dying? Like a weird bee stinger? So, the face-rapist does its job, and then the embryo grows inside the host. Then, it emerges... via the chest, I guess, given those holes seen in all of the dead so far. And then it grows up into the big fuckers who capture more people and... where do the face things come from?_

Harrison remembered the opened pods she and Quail had seen earlier. _Right, so the facehuggers come from those eggs, but where do the eggs come from?_ Harrison then thought back to the female marine and other corpses that had been partially covered by developing pods. _So, they turn corpses into more of the pods, which produce the facehuggers... but then, where did they originate to begin with? If the adult creatures can turn corpses into pods, then that explains where all the pods down here came from, but that still means that there had to be an already existing creature to begin with. So, where did that one come from? Where and when did first contact happen and who was patient zero?_

"Where?" Harrison asked out loud, startling Quail.

"Where? Where... what, exactly?" Quail asked her.

"Huh?" Harrison responded. "Oh... um, just thinking to myself," Harrison explained. "Yeah, mind sharing with the class?" Quail asked her. Harrison quickly explained what she had been thinking about, describing everything they had seen and witnessed so far to help prove her points, being sure to go over them one at a time and in sequence to better help Quail understand things.

"Okay, so we've figured out their life cycle. We can worry about the other details after we've gotten out of here, though. We have a more important matter to deal with at the moment," Quail said, point up ahead at the management office in the distance. A web of resin was covering the door to the office, although it didn't look very thick.

What was more bothersome, however, was that less than two meters away from the door, a sleeping alien was embedded in the wall of the nest. On the floor next to the creature was a shed skin. Cocooned to the same wall, just a meter away from the creature and closer to the soldiers, a partially devoured host could be seen, her left arm and hand being nothing more than bones and a few tendons holding it together, with some of her neck and half of her face missing, revealing a section of her skull. Harrison and Quail both looked away from the half-eaten corpse on the wall and kept their eyes on the sleeping creature near their exit.

Carefully creeping past the sleeping alien, Harrison and Quail managed to reach the door to the office and began searching for the control panel to open it. Quail kept his eyes peeled, scanning for signs of movement as Harrison searched for the panel. "Dammit, where is it?" Harrison muttered as she slung her pulse rifle and began grabbing at the resin webbing covering the door. She carefully checked the walls and ceiling as she pulled on the resin, fearing that her actions may awaken the sleeping creatures around them.

"You're good. Just be more careful," Quail said as he scanned the walkway around them. Harrison resumed her gentle struggle, eventually slipping an arm under the resin to feel around for the door's controls. "Come on... there we go," Harrison said with a grin as she pressed a button. The door did nothing. Frowning and furrowing her brows in frustration, Harrison moved her hand over slightly and pressed a second button.

This time, the door began to slide open. The door was caught on resin that was stuck to it, however and the process of opening was halted. "No, goddammit, no!" Harrison hissed in anger. Even as Harrison began quietly swearing at the door with every foul word known to man, the machinery began to prove that it still had some strength as it slowly continued opening. Soon, there was just enough space that Harrison could step through, even with her armor as she tried crouching to step under a diagonal stretch of resin.

Quail, however, had a more difficult time, as the harness and smartgun took up more room. Eventually, he had to take off the harness and crouch down to slip through the opening before grabbing the harness and weapon to drag them into the office. Harrison quickly pressed the button on the interior panel to close the door, which slid back into place, eliciting a faint beep from the motion tracker.

"I'll keep an eye out. Just get that harness back on," Harrison said as Quail began dressing himself once more, disconnecting the smartgun from the harness to make things easier before reconnecting it. "Okay, I'm ready," Quail said as he checked the aim of his smartgun by waving it around carefully, watching as the targeting reticule on his visor synced up with the movement of the gun.

"Alright, let's go," Harrison said as she walked over to the entrance door that would lead to a flight of stairs going up to whatever building they were beneath. Looking around the room, Harrison finally took in the sight of just how empty it was. There were standard paraphernalia for maintenance workers in the room, but there were no blood stains or resinous material covering the walls and ceiling. There were no tipped over trash cans and no scattered papers. Even the computer on the desk was completely shut off, indicating that it had not been in use for a while.

"Sash, let's move," Quail said, urging the soldier to take point as she opened the next door and quietly made her way up a tall and long section of stairs. The duo cautiously left the horrors of the sewer behind as they treaded up the stairs before reaching another door, opening it and entering the entry-room of a small maintenance lounge. Beyond the lounge was a large open room, filled with power loaders and forklifts.

To the right, Harrison could see several docks with closed doors lining the wall. They were in a store room, and judging by the various pallets and skids filled with food and supplies, they had entered a grocery store or a warehouse market of some kind. Looking around, Harrison and Quail noticed two overnight employees on the ground with pink and yellow facehuggers attached to them.

The current maintenance lounge was rather small compared to the one at the hospital, but given that their current location was most likely a grocery store or supermarket of some kind, it seemed fitting. The hospital was a major fixture in the city and it was a huge facility. A supermarket would be relatively small in comparison, and with there being multiple grocery stores or other markets in the city, the need for a large maintenance floor or lounge was greatly reduced for the ones that featured direct access to the sewer system. The hospital had very specific needs and requirements for its maintenance, so the maintenance staff had their own floor and series of offices for multiple personnel. A grocery store's maintenance area required only a fraction of what was found at the hospital.

Slowly stepping out of the lounge and into the storeroom, the two soldiers kept their backs to the wall as they stepped around the various pallets, and pallet jacks nearby, the two soldiers pressed on, carefully making their way towards the doors that led into the main store. Carefully stepping around a still-wrapped pallet of baking goods and beverage mixes, the duo noticed a hallway with the words DAIRY COOLERS labeled above it next to a staircase that led to an employees only floor up above.

The stairs were further down the hall, while the doors to the shopping floor were across an open space. "Let's check the upstairs first," Harrison whispered to Quail. Quail quietly nodded his head and followed her as they pressed their backs up against the wall, side-stepping their way to the stairs. Harrison and Quail constantly checked the ceiling and the dark hall for the coolers, with Harrison pulling out her motion tracker every few feet as they stepped closer to the stairs.

Slowly, the duo ascended to the top of the stairs and entered an employee lounge, fitted with two tables perpendicular to each other and several folding chairs. A small refrigerator was located in the corner of the room, along with a counter top and a sink. A microwave oven sat on the counter top a mere foot away from the sink, along with an opened package of paper plates and napkins. A drawer labeled PLASTIC UTENSILS was half-way open under the counter.

Lining two walls in the lounge were several lockers for the store's employees and a coat rack, filled with hangars and jackets. Near the sink and next to a table was a water cooler, topped with paper cups. Lying on the floor nearby were at least three employees with facehuggers attached to them. Following a small hallway to their right, Harrison and Quail found the employee restrooms.

Quail looked at Harrison with trepidation. "Uh... Sash? I know we're supposed to hold it in out in the field, but given that our current circumstances are not-" "I'll cover you, but we have to sweep the bathrooms first. I've gotta go too, but only one of us at a time," Harrison said in reluctant agreement as she cut him off. Quail nodded his head and slowly opened the door to the men's bathroom, stepping inside with Harrison right behind him.

The first thing that the soldiers noticed was a cart full of cleaning supplies next to the urinals, with a mop and bucket filled with cleaner and water. Quail focused his attention on the stalls nearby. Walking over to a closed stall, Quail peeked through a sliver of a hap between the door and the stall, seeing a man in a janitor's suit with a pink and yellow facehugger attached to his face sitting on the toilet. Looking away, Quail inspected the next stall, seeing that it was open. There was only a toilet and a wipe dispenser on the wall next it. The third stall was also devoid of any life.

"Okay, we've got one poor bastard in the first stall, and the other two are clear. I'm gonna go," Quail said quietly to Harrison. She nodded her head as Quail began removing the harness for his smartgun and setting it next to the wall. "Don't take too long," Harrison said quietly.

"I won't," Quail replied before hurrying into the stall and closing the door. Harrison kept her eyes on the ceiling and the bathroom door as she listened to Quail going about his business as fast he could, although her nose told her that Quail wouldn't be done as soon as he'd initially thought. Frowning, Harrison soon returned her attention to her surroundings.

A few minutes later than Quail had promised, he finally opened the door and stepped out of the stall. "Sorry. I just-" "Stow it and get your gear on. Wait, did you flush?" Harrison asked Quail.

"Well, I thought we weren't supposed to be making a lot of noise, so-" "Flush. Just do it," Harrison ordered him sternly. Quail nodded his head and stepped back into the stall to flush the toilet. He soon stepped back out and went for his gear. "Hey, wash your hands first," Harrison snapped.

"But-" " _Wash_ your hands, _Donovan_ ," Harrison said sternly. "Yes, _Sasha_ ," Quail replied before making for the sink. The sound of rushing water did not help Harrison as she became increasingly anxious. Wiping his hands on his pants, Quail avoided using the air dryer because of the noise. He quickly donned his harness once more and steadied his smartgun.

"Your turn," he said to Harrison, who quickly nodded her head and rushed into the next stall. Quail listened as she unclipped her armor and key sections of her uniform before relieving herself. As with him, things took longer than anticipated, but when Harrison was finally done, both soldiers felt more at ease and slightly less on edge than before. After washing her hands, the duo quickly stepped back out into the hallway and made their way back to the main storeroom, slowly descending the stairs with Harrison's motion tracker held out in front of her again.

Upon reaching the bottom, the duo slowly made their way down to the coolers. Opening the doors of the main cooler, the duo saw crates of milk and iced tea on the floor. Some were right-side up, but many others had fallen over, with gallons of milk spilled on the floor and staining it as the trails of milk led to a drain in the center of the room. A pallett with still-wrapped milk stood in the center of the room, along with a corroded crate hook lying on the floor next to it. There was a small melted-away section on the floor with a greenish and yellow tint, but given that the floor was cement, it wasn't very deep.

One of the creatures had been wounded, but it must have been a shallow wound, given how little damage there was to the floor and the metal crate hook. Although, it was entirely possible that the cold environment may have played a part of controlling the damage, at least to some extent. Walking around the milk cooler, and seeing several unopened boxes of chicken and ostrich eggs on a bench, the duo saw eight stacks of milk crates lined up against the wall. There were two columns of each type of milk, ranging from whole milk to fat free.

Walking further down the milk lineup, crates various flavored milks soon lined the walls. The milks were all produced by the Delicious Food & Beverages company*, one of the few corporations that was _not_ owned by Weyland-Yutani. The flavors ranged from chocolate to strawberry, along with french vanilla, orange cream, blueberry blast, caramel swirl, strawberry banana, raspberry delight, and a limited edition dark chocolate flavor.

While the sight of the flavored milks and other iced teas was certainly appealing for a brief time, the cold of the room eventually began to wear on the two soldiers. Forcing themselves to stay a little bit longer, Harrison and Quail checked under the bench and behind every crate they could find for signs of more creatures in hiding, so that if they had to return, they wouldn't find themselves getting nasty surprises. After finally determining that the room was clear, the duo exited the cold environment of the first dairy cooler.

Returning to the nice and warm air of the hallway, Harrison and Quail opened the door to the second dairy cooler and looked around, seeing more crates of iced tea and boxes filled with fruit drinks lining the walls. There were also shelves lined with boxes of cheese, butter, yogurt, and pudding on one side of the room, in addition to various milk substitutes. However, in the center of the room were two figures that caught both soldiers' attention.

Sitting with her back against several crates of iced tea was a lone female Marine. Her green uniform stood out amongst the reds and blacks of the tea crates, as did the cold blood on the floor around her, most of which came from the lacerations along her body and hole in her side, where she had no doubt bled out from, in addition to the melted-away right leg, showing only white bone. An M41A1 pulse rifle lied on the floor nearby, with two spare magazines holstered on a vest worn by the fallen woman. Near the Marine's body, though, was the second figure.

It was one of the creatures, its black and yellow exoskeletal body unmistakable in this environment. Its whitish domed head shone in the light, and a metal crate hook could be seen sticking through its neck. There were bullet holes in its body from where it had been shot, along with a VP70M service pistol lying on the ground just inches away from the dead Marine.

The Marine had put up a hell of a fight before she died. Eyeing the pulse rifle, Quail glanced at Harrison quickly. Harrison slowly walked over to the weapon and picked it up, before retrieving the spare magazines from the dead Marine on the floor. "Semper Fi," Harrison said with a brief salute to the fallen woman before returning to Quail's side.

"Here," she said as she helped sling the weapon over Quail's left shoulder and neck. She then secured the spare ammo magazines. She then made her way back over to the fallen Marine and retrieved her dog tags. They read 'PFC J. CLARKE'.

Stuffing the dog tags into one of her uniform's breast pockets beneath her armor, Harrison gave another brief salute to the fallen Marine. "Okay, let's get out of here," Harrison said before making her way out of the cooler, beckoning Quail to follow her. The duo quietly made their way back through the hall and over to the main doors that led to the main floor of the store.

Stepping out onto the main floor, Harrison and Quail scanned the dairy aisle to their left. At least three people were lying on the ground with facehuggers attached to them near different sections of the aisle. Two of the facehuggers were pink and yellow, while one of them was tan.

Groceries lay on the floor near them and in their shopping carts. Another face-hugged customer could be seen lying on a toppled display of tissue paper rolls near aisle 6-B. Over to the soldiers' right, the lunch meats and frozen foods lined the walls, with more store employees and customers littering the floor with facehuggers attached to them. Harrison and Quail soon counted at least eight victims, not counting the four they'd already seen by the dairy aisle.

Stalking slowly past the frozen meats, Harrison and Quail kept their eyes peeled for more facehuggers and adult monsters lurking behind shopping carts and on shelves. Nearing the deli department, the duo soon saw at least one facehugger on the floor, chopped in half. The floor around it had burn marks and a shallow hole from its blood. The glass covering the display case for the lunch meats had been melted by the creature's blood in places, with at least two stacks of sliced ham having melting marks, with melted plastic trays around them.

Looking over the counter, at least one night-shift janitor could be seen with a tan facehugger attached to him as he lied on the floor just outside of the deli's kitchen area. "It's like a fucking epidemic," Quail muttered. "The damn things are _everywhere_ ," he added.

"Come on. There's nothing we can do for him," Harrison said as she pressed onward, soon moving over towards the meat department, passing the refrigerated shelves on the way there. The duo constantly checked their peripherals as they passed the various cuts of meat that lined the shelves and the refrigerated bunkers that stood between the shelves and the other aisles of the store. More shopping baskets and carts were seen on the floor, abandoned or lying next to an owner with a monster attached to their face.

"Were these people all shopping at night?" Quail asked incredulously as he recalled when the creatures had reportedly launched their assault on the city.

"It doesn't matter at this point. Just hug the walls and keep your eyes peeled," Harrison said, forcing herself to stay focused. Quail was right, though. This _was_ an epidemic.

Carefully walking past the display case for the meat department, Harrison and Quail saw at least one facehugger on the floor missing its tail and two legs, with a deep cut through its midsection, showing its green and yellow insides. A melted knife lay just a foot away from the creature on the floor. Scanning the rest of the department, the duo saw numerous cutting boards, tables, and backroom doors with blood on them. The meat department floor and walls had blood stains all over them, along with the bodies of two night shift employees, both of whom had tan facehuggers attached to them.

Moving onward, Harrison and Quail kept their backs to the shelves as they made their way around the perimeter of the store's interior. Eventually, they managed to reach the produce section near the store's entrance. "We're almost out of here," Harrison said optimistically, just as they passed aisles 2-A and 1-A. Stopping in the middle of the two aisles, Quail saw a U-boat with an employee laying over it, several boxes of cereal scattered on the floor, and a tan facehugger attached to her face.

"Come on," Harrison said as she grabbed Quail by the shoulder and pulled him along. Entering the produce area, the duo soon saw two police officers lying on the ground, both with pink and yellow facehuggers attached to them. "I don't get it. We didn't see that many opened pods in the sewer, so where the hell are these facehuggers coming from?" Quail asked rhetorically.

"There are probably multiple nests situated down in the sewers. We only ran into _one_ of them," Harrison suggested. Moving forward, towards the registers, Harrison took out her motion tracker and scanned for signs of movement. At least one front register employee could be seen on the floor with a tan facehugger attached to her, and one customer with a pink and yellow facehugger on him. Aside from the two visible victims, the steady hum and faint blips of the tracker signaled a lack of activity in the immediate vicinity.

"Okay, let's go," Harrison said as she stowed her tracker and led Quail over to the self-checkout lane, which had the most room for them to go through. Keeping his smartgun in a cease-fire position, Quail ducked slightly as he and Harrison walked through the sliding doors, entering a small entrance lobby with benches for sitting and potted plants and bags of soil on a shelf. Harrison checked the tracker one more time before moving forward towards the door to exit the store and step out onto the sidewalk next to a cart corral.

" _Finally!_ The sweet taste of... freedom," Quail muttered unenthusiastically as he looked around at the devastation on the streets. The store's parking lot held at least three dozen vehicles, along with two visible bodies on the ground, just feet away from their cars. "Shit," Quail said bitterly as he saw a flipped-over car near the parking lot entrance. Looking up at the sky, Harrison saw that the sun would be setting soon, judging by its position. She then quickly checked her mission timer and network clock.

"That's just _great_. It'll be dark in a couple of hours, and we probably won't even be out of the city by then," Harrison muttered. " _Terrific_ ," Quail muttered sarcastically in response.

"Think any of these cars are unlocked?" Quail asked Harrison.

"I'm not going back inside just to steal someone's keys. And besides, we probably wouldn't be able to fit the smartgun in any of them," she replied. "So?" Quail asked her in response.

"As long as that gun's got ammo, we keep it with us," Harrison replied, glaring at Quail.

"Right," Quail said reluctantly with a sigh.

Looking around, Harrison motioned for Quail to follow her as they jogged over to the edge of the parking lot. Bringing up a street map on her visor, Harrison looked for a route to the police station. "So, what's our plan?" Quail asked as he saw something moving in an alley nearby.

"We're gonna make our way to the police station... or somewhere secure. There's a platform just a block away from here for the Maglev train. Maybe we can make our way there," Harrison suggested. "The train? Is it even still running?" Quail asked her.

"I don't know. Given the current situation, it's probably been shut down, but we can't stay out here on the streets for too long, and I'm _not_ going back into that store," Harrison replied. Quail nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay. So... do we know what the radio frequencies are for the police band?" Quail asked Harrison. "We might have it stored in the network. Let me check," Harrison replied before accessing her visor again.

"I found one," she said after a couple minutes. "Quail, keep your comm on the regular channel," she added before switching over to the police band. "Come in, anybody. This is Corporal Sasha Harrison of the Colonial Army, L-V-Four-Seven-Five A-Company. I and one other soldier are in need of assistance. Does anyone copy, over?" Harrison asked.

" _Hello, you've reached the Everyone's Fucked Hotline. Thank you for calling,_ " a familiar voice said over the comm. "Detective Hauer?" Harrison asked into her mike.

" _Affirmative. Look, I'd love to send someone out to help you, but we're already running low on officers as it is, and you guys are armed with better weaponry than most of us. And we already have a dozen officers guarding at least a few dozen civilians in City Hall. Most of the city's remaining administrative governing body is holed up in there, and we've got only a third of the resources we had before last night. I'm sorry, but your best bet is to steal a car and get out of the city if you want safety. Over_ ," Hauer said.

"Copy that. Look, Detective, we're right outside of the Biehn Grocery Outlet. Can you at least tell us what the closest safe location is in relation to our location?" Harrison asked him.

" _The... Biehn Grocery Outlet? Um, you're on the far side of town, Corporal. You're gonna actually have to make your way past the hospital to get to us. Sorry,_ " Hauer replied.

"What's the fastest way out of the city then?" Harrison asked him.

" _Well, that would usually by the Maglev train, but I'm pretty sure that it's been disabled since last night's attack. Like I said earlier, find an abandoned vehicle and drive on out of here. Your best route is to follow the primary streets until you hit the outskirts. You should be able to find a path leading out to the farmlands from there,_ " Hauer said.

"Terrific advice," Harrison replied sarcastically. "Look, it'll be dark in a couple of hours. Is it possible to reach the outskirts of the city on foot in less than an hour?" Harrison then asked.

" _From your current location? Doubtful. But, by all means, feel free to give it a shot_ ," Hauer replied.

"Look, isn't there any way that you guys can at least give us a lift to the edge of the city so that we can make our way through the farmlands?" Harrison asked him.

" _Well... we have a handful of patrol cars doing civilian pickups through the city right now, but once it hits eight o'clock, they're coming back to the station or City Hall. I'm sorry, but we have to focus on the civilians right now. If you guys are still armed with some military weapons, then you're better protected than most of us and the civilians in the city. They come first. That's just the way it is. I'll check in on you every thirty minutes or so to help guide you through the streets, but once nine o'clock hits, you'd better be either out of the city or holed up in a safe location. That's all I can do for you. I'm sorry,_ " Hauer said apologetically over the radio.

"Yeah, apology accepted," Harrison said bitterly. "Alright, we're at the edge of the parking lot for Biehn's Grocery Outlet. Do we go North or South to get to the nearest primary street out of here?" Harrison then asked over the mike.

" _Let me pull up a map on my computer real quick. Okay... you'll want to go west, actually. This will require running through some alleyways, but it's faster than going strictly on the sidewalks. The darker the sky gets, though, the less you'll want to use the alleys. Just keep going west for about thirty minutes. When I check up on you, tell me where you're at and I'll guide you from there. I've got some other duties to attend to right now. Good luck, over,_ " Hauer said before ending the call.

"Thanks," Harrison said in response. She glanced over at Quail, who was looking at her expectantly while gripping the handles of his smartgun. "We go west. So, let's start jay-walking," Harrison said firmly before stepping forward and walking onto the brief strip of grass between the parking lot and the sidewalk. Quail followed her out of the sidewalk.

Looking around at the large buildings of glass and steel across the street, the two soldiers began a long journey through the streets and alleys of Diamond Bay.

* * *

Author's Notes: And this was Chapter 07 of EPIDEMIC. As you can tell, I've kept the egg-morphing aspect of the T37 aliens from Hard Heads, despite already describing the existence of a royal facehugger in Chapter 01. That's because the T37 aliens use egg-morphing to help form and build up small satellite hives away from their primary hive, or to just build up any hive in general when a queen is absent. The hives in the Diamond Bay sewers are satellite hives, while the hive containing the T37 queen is actually located elsewhere. It's also how they were able to build up their numbers in the city fast enough to launch their attack when they did.

The hive inside the Diamond Bay mall, however, does have a queen in it. That's why the A22 drones were encountered in that location. Now, as one reviewer pointed out to me, drones in established canon are the younger aliens with domes. True, very true. But in this story, drones are the albino creatures that tend to the queen and the nest. This is based on a concept that James Cameron included in his early treatment for the second movie, which was ultimately excluded from the film when production began and ran behind schedule. The albino drones are still mentioned in the novelization, however.

Also, the Delicious Foods & Beverages Company is a reference to the Deelishus Weenie Corporation from Invader Zim. I love that show and watching it on TV when I was younger, and later after finding it on DVD again, helped shape me into the person I am today.

In the next chapter, I have another surprise for everyone as Harrison and Quail make their way back to Colonial Army Base A-001.

As always, be sure to let me know what you guys think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews!


	8. HOMEWARD BOUND

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

This chapter was written while listening to the soundtracks for _Brainstorm_ (1983) by James Horner, _ALIENS_ (1986) by James Horner, _Def-Con 4_ (1985) by Christopher Young, _HALO: REACH_ (2010) by Martin O'Donnell  & Michael Salvatori, and _The Terminator_ (1984) by Brad Fiedel. I liked Young's score for Def-Con 4 in particular because of just how dark and apocalyptic it felt. New World Pictures actually added pieces of Young's score to their edit of _The Return of Godzilla_ (1984) when they released it in the United States as _Godzilla 1985_. I also immensely enjoyed Fiedel's score for _The Terminator_ because it just captured that dark and gritty yet techno-futuristic feel that permeated both the Terminator universe and even the ALIENS universe, although it _does_ sound rather 8-bit video gamey at times.

From _Brainstorm_ : _Lillian's Heart Attack_ , _Race For Time_.

From _ALIENS_ : _Ripley's Rescue_ , _Ripley's Rescue (Percussion Only)_ , _Facehuggers_ , _Futile Escape_.

From _HALO REACH (Complete Score)_ : _Into The Howling Dark (_ Level - Nightfall), _The Sabre Program_ (Level - Long Night Of Solace), _End of the World_ (Level - Pillar Of Autumn), _Sorrow_ (Level - Pillar Of Autumn).

From _Def-Con 4_ : _The Liberation Of Fort Liswell_ , _The Terminals_ , _Gideon's Law_ , _Ghost Planet_ , _I Can't Go On_ , _The New Dark Age_ , _A New Man's Destiny_.

From _The Terminator_ : _Reese Dreams Of Future War_ , _"Fuck You, Asshole!"_ , _Police Station_.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 08: HOMEWARD BOUND**

* * *

 **DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2183**

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY**

"What the hell happened out there?" Captain Burt Rosenthal asked Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg as they entered the base's main strategy room. He'd just finished listening to the mission report from the surviving members of Wolf, Hornet, and Bear squads. The remaining squad leaders had accompanied them inside the room, along with 2nd Lieutenant Mathew Dent and 1st Lieutenant Kimberly Hargrove. Rook was also in the room.

"We didn't anticipate what we encountered," Kellogg replied as he sat down in a chair.

"You said that you'd collected data from the surviving police! How do you _not_ anticipate anything from that!?" Rosenthal snapped harshly. Kellogg glared at Rosenthal.

"We were given the impression that the creatures were mostly nocturnal, _Captain_. We also believed that, since _our_ weaponry is deadlier than that used by the police, we would stand a better chance against these animals than they did. We did the best that we could under the circumstances," Kellogg replied as respectfully as possible. Rosenthal shook his head in disapproval.

"Dent, why didn't you give the order to pull out sooner?" Rosenthal asked the Lieutenant.

"I gave it as soon as I realized what was happening, Captain. Even after the order was given, the enemy proved itself to be quite unpredictable," Dent replied in as even a tone of voice as he could manage at the moment. Rosenthal simply glared at him in response.

"And what about Specialist Franklin? What the hell happened?" Rosenthal finally asked him.

"I don't know," Dent replied. "Again, we were under the impression that these things were primarily nocturnal. Even if they were awake inside of the hospital, we didn't anticipate that they would leave the confines of the facility so quickly," Dent tried to explain defensively.

"Well, we've lost almost a sixth of our company in less than a few hours," Rosenthal said heatedly. _These things managed to do this much damage in less than a day, and they've clearly been running around the damn valley for... Jesus, at least a month by this point! Who knows how many of these things there are? Hold on... if these things have been running around the valley, then they were clearly responsible for what happened at the Wilhelm Farm, and the mountain homesteads, and the satellite station, and... they're running around the mountains. They're roaming free in the mountains **AND** in the city. We're surrounded. We. Are. Surrounded_ , Rosenthal thought to himself in grim realization. _We could be attacked... at **ANY** time, and we don't even have our perimeter defenses..._

"Rook!" Rosenthal barked sternly. "I want the base's perimeter defenses online in one hour. Grab whoever you need to help make it happen. I want the perimeter fences charged. I want the ID scanners at the gates primed with contingency protocols enabled. I want defensive turrets set up, and I want their IFF transmitters and receivers functioning _before_ the turrets have the safeties turned off. I want perimeter scanners up and running at full capacity, and I want you to report back here after you've finished getting our defenses set up. Is that understood?" Rosenthal barked at the synthetic.

"Understood, Captain. Anything else?" Rook asked him. Rosenthal shook his head. Rook then turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

"So, what else do we know about these things?" Rosenthal asked, moving on from his berating of Dent and Kellogg for the mission's disastrous results.

"Their blood is capable of melting your face off," Kellogg said with a sigh.

"You've already informed me of that much. Now, how many of them are there?" Rosenthal asked. "We don't know," Dent replied. "You don't know?" Rosenthal asked him skeptically.

"Not definitively. But... given how many colonists have gone missing and how these things seem to reproduce, I'd say that there might be over a hundred of them at least. And that's not counting the ones that we killed," Dent said.

"About that, how exactly do they reproduce again?" Rosenthal asked.

"They seem to be parasites. Those face-things put an embryo inside of their victim, and then it grows up before bursting out of their chest later on," Dent said, remembering some of what he'd heard over the comm when O'Malley had found the observation ward. Lieutenant Hargrove grimaced at his words.

"Alright, so where do the facehuggers come from?" Rosenthal asked him. Dent shrugged his shoulders in response. "I don't know," Dent finally said.

"Captain," Specialist Kyra Ferguson said as she raised a hand, "I saw some of the creatures carrying what looked like eggs inside the mall."

"The albino ones, right?" Rosenthal asked her. Ferguson nodded her head in affirmation. Rosenthal soon furrowed his brows in thought for a minute.

"Well, that brings up something I've been wonderin' about," Rosenthal said. "Bear Squad, you guys said that the creatures were grey and black, but Hornet and Wolf Squads described the creatures they encountered as black and yellow. What's up with that?" he asked.

"They must be two different variations of the same species, like how there are black people and white people... and red people, and yellow people, and brown people," Kellogg said. Some of the other soldiers looked at him oddly. "Well, you know... different, um... Funnel types? No, that's not it. It's, um... it's, ah... _phenotypes_ , that's it! Different _phenotypes_ ," Kellogg said, correcting himself.

"I guess that explains it. I mean, we did see different colored facehuggers in the hospital, right? Some were tan while others were pink and yellow," Corporal Elizabeth Trudeau said.

"But we never saw any albino creatures in the hospital," Specialist Rosario pointed out.

"Yeah, that's right," Kellogg said, nodding his head in agreement.

"But what about that weird resin?" Trudeau asked curiously. "Both variations were found in areas with resin on the walls," she added. "Do you think... it was some kind of nest? Or maybe like a hive or something? Like... like a bee hive or a wasp nest?" she asked as she looked around at her fellow soldiers.

"Well, a wasp nest would be a close analogy," Rosario said. "There are actually some species of wasps that lay their eggs in other bugs, like the creatures that attacked us," he added. Everyone began looking around nervously.

"Wait, are you saying that we're fighting a species of giant space bees... or space wasps?" Kellogg asked Rosario.

"Well, they were black and yellow like most bees and wasps," Rosario said.

"Yeah, but bees and wasps have eyes, Rosario. These things don't have any eyes, or even any wings," Trudeau pointed out. Rosario rolled his eyes in response.

"What about those tube things on their backs?" PFC Clive Deckard asked from his seat. "Nah, we found things without those at the mall, remember? The really fast runners?" Ferguson pointed out.

"Oh yeah. _Those_ things," Deckard said with a frown. The runners had almost blindsided him and the other surviving members of Bear Squad multiple times, with only sheer luck accounting for the rest of the squad's survival. Those things moved fast, very fast. They were like living bullet trains.

"Look, guys," Rosario started, "I'm not saying that they're actually bugs. I was using the bee and wasp thing as a comparison. You know, like an analogy to help make these things easier for us all to understand." Everyone slowly nodded their heads in understanding.

"Okay, so Ferguson, you said that you saw some of the albino creatures carrying eggs around inside the mall, right?" Lieutenant Hargrove asked Ferguson. Ferguson nodded her head. "And you said that the albino creatures were also secreting the resin through their... long tongues, right?" she asked again.

"Yeah," Ferguson replied.

"Wait, long tongues? You mean they don't have the tiny mouths that the other ones do?" Kellogg asked Ferguson incredulously. Ferguson shook her head.

"I wish we'd encountered _those_ creatures at the hospital. Half of my squad would probably still be here in that case," Kellogg said wistfully. "But wait... if those albino things secrete the resin, how come we never encountered them in the hospital? There were plenty of places in there with that resin, so where were they?" Kellogg then asked curiously.

"Who knows? Maybe they were just in parts of the building that you guys hadn't entered yet," Hargrove suggested. "But, anyway, back to my earlier questioning. If those eggs are where the facehuggers come from, then where do the eggs come from?" Hargrove then asked as she looked at the soldiers, particularly those in Bear Squad.

"Did any of you see something large enough to lay the eggs that you described?" Hargrove asked Ferguson.

"I don't know," Ferguson said in response. She then glanced over at Specialist Helen Mendez of Fire Team India, the only fire team to not lose more than one person inside the mall. "Hey, Mendez, did you guys see anything where you were at before we bailed?" Ferguson asked her.

"I already made my verbal report, Ferguson," Mendez replied. "We were the closest to the exits when the shit hit the fan. Your fire teams were the closest to the center of the mall when all hell broke loose. If there was anything in there laying those eggs, then it would've been seen by either fire teams Harpoon or Gamma," Mendez elaborated.

"Wait, how big were the eggs?" Rosenthal asked Ferguson.

"Huh? I wasn't exactly able to measure them, given the circumstances," Ferguson replied. "But... they were still pretty big. About the size of a small child, I suppose," she added.

Raising his hand in the air, Deckard cleared his throat. "Yes?" Hargrove asked Deckard. Deckard looked around before focusing on Hargrove.

"Lieutenant, before we met up with the others, my fire team... we saw something big near one of the food courts, on the bottom floor. It was right above a children's play area in the center. I don't remember too many details, but it had these big support beams or struts of some kind shooting out of it and attached to the stairs and escalators in the center of the court. It was this big mass big and it had this black, or maybe blue shell covering it, but it was large enough that those eggs could easily come out of it. It looked like it had arms and legs, and a big crown or something, but I couldn't see a mouth. I don't know if it was a big creature or some kind of bizarre cocoon or something, but... it was big enough."

"Did you see it laying any eggs? Was there anything else connected to it?" Hargrove asked him. Deckard scratched his head in thought.

"I... I don't remember. I just remember seeing something weird and probably big enough to do the job, at least in hindsight," Deckard replied. Rosenthal sighed as he realized just how little information had come from Deckard's admission.

Scratching his chin, Rosenthal processed the rest of what he'd learned so far. "Okay, I want everyone to begin compiling their reports. When Rook has finished getting the bases defenses set up, we'll come back and begin a more thorough examination of... these things. We need to to build a report to send to the other bases on the continent. We have to let them know what we're up against, in case these things manage to leave the valley," Rosenthal said before looking around the room. "You're all dismissed to compile your reports electronically in the next two hours. Return by then and you'll receive further assignments for tonight and tomorrow. Dismissed," Rosenthal said sharply.

* * *

 **THE STREETS OF DIAMOND BAY...**

Crouching behind an abandoned car by the sidewalk, Corporal Sasha Harrison and Specialist Donovan Quail checked for signs of activity near the intersection ahead of them. The space elevator loomed up ahead in the distance, near the center of the city. Its monolithic size meant that Harrison and Quail would always be able to have at least some idea of where they were in relation to the structure.

Motioning for Quail to move forward, Harrison quickly stayed beside him as she kept her eyes peeled, searching the shadows and darkened windows of buildings for signs of activity, human or otherwise. As they neared the street corner, the duo stopped just a meter away from the edge of the barber shop next to them. Harrison carefully crept forward, using her motion tracker to check for movement nearby before she slowly passed the front door and window of the barber shop.

She slowly poked her head out over the side and scanned the streets for signs of movement, listening to the quiet hum and blips of her motion tracker. There were only abandoned vehicles and a few smashed windows in the buildings around her. "It's clear. Come on," Harrison called over to Quail, who quickly jogged up behind her and followed her as they made their way across the street.

The traffic lights above them were still performing their usual duties, apparently not at all affected by the chaos that had swept through the city the previous night. Upon reaching the end of the street, Harrison checked her visor map to see the distance between their current location and the waypoint they had marked from Detective's Hauer's previous checkup. "We've got another city block to cover," Harrison said as she glanced at Quail.

"Yippee," Quail snarked. While the duo hadn't encountered any of the creatures in the streets just yet, they weren't holding their hopes up. The sun was setting, and in another hour, it would be dark outside. Harrison quickly spotted a city administration kiosk near an alley. No doubt it would have a map they could use, but its location gave Harrison pause.

 _Do I really want to risk it?_

Mulling over her options, Harrison decided to go for it. She motioned for Quail to follow her as she jogged over to the information kiosk and pressed a button next to the terminal. The previously powered-down screen quickly came to life as it displayed an interactive menu. Using the keypad next to the screen, Harrison pressed the directional arrow keys to highlight the city map option before pressing the ENTER key to access it.

Using the track ball mouse under the keypad, Harrison hovered the mouse pointer over the location of the kiosk on the map. Using the map options given to her by the program, she entered the address of Colonial Army Base A-001 into the target address bar and waited for the computer system to calculate the distance and quickest path between their location and the base. In three seconds, a bright purple line appeared on the city map as it expanded to cover the valley.

Harrison spent the next few minutes entering this data into her visor's network system before seeing a map with a new waypoint appear in front of her. "Bingo," she said with a grin. "Quail, I'm uploading the map to the network. Get ready to load it onto your visor," Harrison said.

"Far out," Quail said appreciatively before accessing it on his visor.

"Okay," he said, "I'm ready to roll."

* * *

 **DIAMOND BAY CITY HALL...**

Inside the large circular chamber where the city's municipal governing administrative body held its sessions and multiple other functions as colony representatives had meetings with the colony's citizens, over 300 civilians were intermixed with police and government officials. Emergency relief workers busily passed around food to the various colonists huddled in the main meeting chamber, while the remaining administrative officials held a meeting in one of the conference rooms on the fifth floor above. The city's head administrator, dubbed "the mayor" by colonists who had emigrated from Earth where towns actually still used such titles for a very similar role, looked around the room before setting his gaze on Captain Darryl Lantham, the current Acting Chief of Police.

"So, the military has pulled out and left us on our own for the time being?" Head Administrator "Mayor" Jason Wile asked Lantham with a grim expression on his face. Lantham sighed and glanced away before clearing his throat. Looking around the room before settling his gaze on the mayor's worried face.

"They have... performed a tactical retreat. We did not... prepare them adequately enough for their encounter with the creatures that attacked us," Lantham replied. The city's head budget and finance administrator rubbed her temples worriedly as she processed Lantham's words.

"I have already spoken with Captain Rosenthal of Army Base A-Zero-Zero-One over the phone in the past hour. He has assured me that he will begin drafting a plan to help quarantine the creatures once he and his soldiers have managed to draft a report to give to the other military bases on the continent. They won't abandon us to save their own skins, Mayor Wile."

Wile and the other administrative officers all glanced at each other nervously. "That's... er, somewhat comforting, Captain Lantham, but we need to know if they will be sending troops in to protect us again," Colonial Representative Janet Gordon said. "These things have proven themselves to be dangerous even to the Army. What chance do _we_ stand with only an already-reduced police force?" she asked nervously.

"She's right," Maintenance Administrator Gerald Thorpe pointed out. "It'll be dark soon, and then those things will be back on the streets!" The other members of the administrative body all nodded their heads and murmured in agreement.

"We'll be issuing a curfew ordering all civilians to remain indoors after dark," Lantham said.

"Pfft! What good is _that_ gonna do!?" Mayor Wile asked him incredulously. "These things broke into _both_ police stations last night and captured over a third of our security forces! Do you think these things are going to care that their prey _aren't_ out on the streets when they come out again? Hell no! They'll just break into people's homes or whatever buildings they're hiding in!" Wile ranted.

"We have patrol officers searching offices and other residences for civilians. Anyone they find will be escorted back here or to the Civics Center. Once night hits, our remaining security forces will have both City Hall and the Civics Center guarded," Lantham explained.

"We were caught off-guard last night, but tonight we'll be prepared. We've broken out the tactical gear and heavy weaponry. Our remaining SWAT officers have been recalled to the stations and will be posted at both civilian locations for your protection. We have armored police vehicles that will be rolled out once the streets have been cleared. Trust me, we'll be ready this time," Lantham said in a confident tone, secretly hiding his own nervousness and anxiety from the city's administrative council.

"As soon as I leave this building for Station One, I'll call Captain Rosenthal again and arrange for him to send in troops tomorrow to provide protection and begin an extermination of the creatures. The Army knows what we're up against now, so they won't get caught by surprise again," Lantham said as he reassured the administrators. His statements seemed to be working, as the civilians at the table around him seemed to begin letting out relieved sighs and small smiles.

"Okay, but we want to know everything that the Army is planning to do when they return," Wile said. Lantham nodded his head in agreement with the decision before standing up and walking over to the door. "If you'll excuse me, I need to return to Station One to oversee a few things before the curfew hits. My officers will be guarding civilians, but no one will be going outside after dark, so I'd suggest that everyone gets comfortable. You'll all be spending the night in this building, and I'll have officers escort you to your residences tomorrow so that you can get cleaned up," Lantham said before exiting the room.

"He forgot to close the door," Representative Gordon commented as she looked out at the hallway from her seat.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001...**

Lieutenant Hargrove stepped back from the electronic drawing board and looked at the diagram she had finished drawing. The diagram showed the life cycle of the creatures according to everything that the soldiers had observed so far. There were also crude drawings of the creatures as well, showing the domed heads and the ridged heads side by side, along with some of the differences in body type, such as the human-borne creatures and the ones that were more animalistic.

Hearing the sound of a door sliding open, Hargrove glanced over and saw Rook entering the conference room. "Lieutenant Hargrove, I was hoping I could find Captain Rosenthal in here. I wanted to inform him personally that the base's defenses are completely online and ready," Rook stated. Hargrove nodded her head quietly.

"He's back in his office. I think he's calling the other bases right now," Hargrove relayed to the droid. "Right. Should I go look for him in his office then? Or should I simply wait here for him?" Rook asked her.

"I'd recommend just waiting here for him," Hargrove replied.

Rook nodded his head in affirmation before looking at the diagram on the board. "Intriguing. We've already learned so much about these things in such a short period of time," Rook commented as he looked over the drawings and annotations on the board. Hargrove shrugged her shoulders in response as she looked at her rather crude drawings. She had never been one for drawing or painting, but she didn't think that her drawing ability was all that bad.

At the very least, she was a better artist than any of her siblings.

As Rook scanned the diagram, he formed an inquisitive expression on his face. "Is something the matter?" Hargrove asked the synthetic. Rook glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to the board.

"Something's missing," he said as he looked at the life cycle. "There's a step in there that we're missing," he elaborated. "Bear Squad confirmed that these things come from eggs. But we still don't know where or how the eggs originate. We don't know if the creatures lay them in a smaller form and then wait for them to grow, or if there's another stage of their life cycle that we haven't encountered yet," Rook finished.

Hargrove slowly nodded her head in agreement with the droid. "I guess we'll have to go out again and try to find out," she said unenthusiastically. She did not like the idea of sending more troops into harm's way, especially considering how the creatures seemed to propagate.

A few minutes later, Rosenthal entered the room. "I just got off the horn with Captain Lantham of the Diamond Bay police," he said as he regarded Hargrove and Rook. "First, I've received word that two of our soldiers are still alive and on the streets. They're searching for a way back here, and Captain Lantham has promised not to hold it against them if they have to steal a civilian vehicle. Second, the police are asking us to go back into the city tomorrow to help exterminate the creatures or at least provide additional protection to the remaining civilians in the city," he elaborated.

"Exterminate?" Rook asked him. "Captain, we still don't know exactly where these creatures originated. Even if we should somehow kill all of the creatures in the city, others may remain elsewhere," he pointed out.

"Our immediate concern is the safety of the civilians in Diamond Bay and the farm lands. I already have Dent working on a defensive plan that we can put into action within the next forty-eight hours," Rosenthal responded. "In the meantime, Leaf Clipper returned just a little bit ago and wanted to go back after refueling. I said 'no'. We need all available personnel to remain on base until we've worked out a plan for dealing with these things," Rosenthal said.

"Why do they want to go back?" Hargrove asked Rosenthal.

"I just told you a minute ago; two of our own are still in the city," Rosenthal replied.

"Wait, you don't want to rescue them?" Rook asked Rosenthal incredulously.

"If the police know their whereabouts, then they'll probably pick them up and take them back to one of the stations for the night. There's no way the police would let two soldiers with superior firepower just leave the city with those things running around. One's got a smartgun, and the other one's got a pulse rifle, and that's more dangerous than most of the police force's weaponry," Rosenthal elaborated.

"I'm sure they'll be fine."

* * *

 **THE STREETS OF DIAMOND BAY CITY...**

Harrison carefully peered around the corner of a building, searching the illuminated alleyway under the lone street lamp in the alley for signs of activity. She quickly checked her motion tracker before signalling to Quail that it was safe to move. The two soldiers swiftly jogged across the alley opening as they made their way over to the next intersection.

Pulling out her motion tracker again, Harrison saw a SWAT APC parked by the sidewalk. "Quail, I think I found our exit," Harrison said with a grin. "Wait, that's a police model," Quail pointed out.

"So?" Harrison asked him.

"So, it might not have the fuel efficiency of an Army APC, Sash! We don't even know if has any fuel left inside it," Quail said in response. "Hell, it's been sitting out here for who knows how long, and the minute we open its doors, something nasty could pop out at us," he added.

"Well, we won't know unless we try," Harrison retorted as she motioned for Quail to cover her as she jogged over to the APC. The SWAT APC was smaller than a military APC, and much more compact in its design. It carried far fewer personnel and equipment, and it had far fewer armaments for defense than a military APC. However, it made up for those shortcomings with two very important advantages over the military APC: speed and fuel usage, contrary to Donovan Quail's beliefs.

Siding up next to the large dark blue vehicle, Harrison continued checking her motion tracker before slinging it and climbing up the side of the APC, using a set of handles running from the top to the bottom. Getting on top, she glanced around the empty streets before slinging her pulse rifle and grabbing the handle to open the top hatch.

It didn't take much effort to open the hatch. Because of this, Harrison paused and un-slung her pulse rifle, keeping the grip in one hand as she used her left hand to slowly open the hatch of the APC and shine her helmet light into the darkness below. Blood stains could be seen covering the interior surfaces of the vehicle, but otherwise there were no signs of life or activity to be found.

As the street lamps illuminated the now darkened sidewalks, Quail began to feel nervous as he waited for Harrison to check the status of the APC. Looking in the distance, he caught brief glimpses of shadows darting behind walls, and dark figures moving into alleys. "Uh, Sash? How long until you find out if that thing is functional?" Quail asked over his headset.

Checking the small ammo counter on his smartgun, Quail gulped. He only had a sixth of his initial ammo left in the weapon. "Sash?" Quail asked nervously again. " _Just hold on_ ," Harrison replied over the headset as she moved around the inside of the APC.

Quail heard a rustling noise and glanced over to his right, where he saw a black silhouette in an alley across the street. "Sash, we've got company," Quail said as he steadied his smartgun. He saw the domed head as it exited the alley, followed by another one to its left, and a ridged head to its right..

As the three creatures left the darkness of the alley to step near a street lamp, Quail noticed that they lacked the yellow markings of the creatures seen at the hospital. Briefly glancing to his left, Quail soon did a double-take as he saw two black and yellow creatures crawling towards him on the side of a building. "Aw shit," Quail muttered.

"Sash! We've got contact! Two sets of 'em!" Quail shouted into his mike. " _Just give me a few more seconds!_ " Harrison replied over the headset. As the two groups of creatures made their way towards them, the lights of the APC came on and the engine roared to life. The creatures paused briefly, only to resume their path.

"Well... fuck it," Quail muttered before aiming at the creatures on the wall and opening fire, hitting one of them in the shoulder and blowing its left arm off. The creature let out a painful screech as it began climbing upwards, before the second creature followed its wounded comrade. Meanwhile, the other creatures began sprinting toward Quail, who was just able to turn himself in time to jab one in the chest with the smartgun.

"Oh fuck!" he cried out as he was pushed backwards. The other two creatures flanked him and opened their mouths to reveal their piston-like inner jaws, with the ridge-headed beast extending its jaw with a hiss, while the other one simply made a gurgling sound as it kept its jaw inside it mouth. "Sasha!" Quail cried out, just as he heard pulse rifle fire from above.

"Get the fuck off him!" Harrison roared as she shot the one on top of Quail in the rear, causing it to squeal in surprise and pain before backing off on all fours like a baboon. The other two beasts looked up and hissed at her, before one of them leapt up onto the APC. "Come and get it!" Sasha spat as she opened fire at the creature, blowing its domed head open with a single burst from her pulse rifle.

The creature's body fell back off of the APC and onto the pavement below. The other two creatures, not accustomed to prey that could successfully fight back, both pulled away briefly, until they raised their heads in the air and let out a series of hisses and growls. "Quail, get your ass over here!" Harrison called out.

Quail quickly picked himself up and prepared open fire at the creatures, just as a black and yellow body slammed itself into one of them. "The hell?" Quail asked as he watched the black and yellow creature tackle the black and grey beast to the ground. The second dark grey and black creature rushed to its comrade's aid, pushing the black and yellow alien off of its fellow warrior.

Meanwhile, behind Harrison, a one-armed black and yellow alien began to slowly descend the side of a building towards her position, carefully making as little noise as possible. Looking around, Quail soon spotted the beast. "Sasha! Above you!" he cried out. Harrison quickly spun around and aimed her pulse rifle at the alien, firing at it with a short burst.

The alien sluggishly dodged the gunfire, before Harrison hit it in the left leg with a second burst, causing it flail and fall off of the building, landing on the top of the APC, writhing around in pain from its wounds. The creature lashed out with hisses and screeches as Harrison tried to kick it off of the vehicle. She wanted to avoid spilling too much of its blood on the vehicle's armor if she could help it. As the creature wriggled around closer to the edge of the APC, its tail lashed out and struck at Harrison across the arm, cutting into her and drawing blood, as well as letting out a small amount of translucent fluid, almost mistakable for sweat, onto Harrison's dirt and grime-covered forearm.

"Bastard!" Harrison spat before forcefully kicking the creature and sending it falling down onto the sidewalk. Below Harrison, on the ground, Quail fired another burst at the creature from his smartgun, ending its suffering. "Quail, ditch the smartgun and get up here!" Harrison called out. "I'll cover you!" she added as she kept her pulse rifle trained on the other aliens as they fought each other nearby.

Quail quickly detached his harness as a black and grey spotted limb was thrown to the ground near his feet. He quickly looked over and saw the black and yellow alien pushing the ridge-headed creature away as it dismembered the domed one with a vicious snarl. "Jesus Christ!" Quail exclaimed as he dropped his smartgun and held up the M41A1 pulse rifle he and Sasha and found earlier.

He quickly aimed the M41A1 at the fighting aliens, before Harrison told him to ignore them and simply get into the APC. "Let them kill each other. We'll waste less ammo," she added as she helped Quail climb up to the hatch.

Meanwhile, the black and yellow alien screeched in pain as its less advanced brethren tore off one of its arms and overpowered it, before it curled its tail around the neck of the domed one and tried knocking it into the ridge-headed warrior holding it down. The ridge-headed warrior placed a six-fingered hand on the mouth of the black and yellow warrior, hissing when the rival alien used its inner jaws to punch through its hand. The domed warrior quickly grabbed and ripped off one of the black and yellow warrior's dorsal tubes, eliciting a screech of pain from the creature. As the black and yellow xenomorph began losing strength from the severity of its wounds, the two common xenomorphs soon began overpowering it, using their claws and inner jaws to lacerate and rip apart the black and yellow warrior with ease, just as the APC began backing up from its spot and driving away.

The two common xenomorphs quickly looked up at the retreating vehicle, before focusing their attention on the dead advanced warrior on the ground. Confirming that the warrior of a rival hive was dead, the two creatures let out victorious squeals and hisses into the air. They ignored the retreating soldiers, knowing that other prey still remained in the city with less potent defenses against them.

Meanwhile, inside the APC, Quail and Harrison both let out a collective sigh of relief. "Holy shit," Quail muttered as he cradled his new M41A1 pulse rifle in his arms. Taking a few deep breaths, Quail leaned back against the interior wall of the vehicle. "Hey, Sash?" he asked Harrison as she operated the controls of the vehicle.

"Yeah?" she asked him, keeping her eyes on either the road or the monitor behind the steering column with a map of the streets.

"How much fuel is in this thing?" Quail asked her. Harrison quickly glanced at the fuel gauge near the odometer and the speedometer. "We've got enough. We'll make it back to the base; don't worry," Harrison said as she weaved the APC through the streets of Diamond Bay, doing her best to avoid the various abandoned cars and vans near the sidewalks.

On the sides and roofs of the buildings around them, the xenomorphs watched as the vehicle sped towards the outskirts of the city, carefully following it as best they could. If they succeeded, they would be able to find a new source of prey. Even if the retreating prey led them on a fruitless chase, there were still plenty of other prey left in the city.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001**

"Just set up perimeter defenses by the mountain passes by sunrise," Rosenthal said over the radio as he conversed with Major Locklear of Army Base A-002. "We've already sent you the data and mission reports. What more do you need from us?" he asked.

" _I'm not asking for anything, Rosenthal. I just need more time to inform my troops. We'll have everything set up by sunrise tomorrow morning, but we need time to get this data shared and read by everyone. If even one of my soldiers doesn't understand what we're dealing with, any operations we plan could end in disaster. My base has more troops than yours does, so just give us a little more time to get everyone ready. Major Locklear, Out._ "

Rosenthal leaned back in his seat and looked around at the rest of the terminals and equipment in the communications room. He glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was already 21:00 hours. Reaching over to the main terminal, he selected the communications channel for the Diamond Bay Police.

"Come in, Diamond Bay Police. This is Captain Burt Rosenthal of the USCA, Army Base A-Zero-Zero-One. Please respond, over."

" _This is Captain Lantham of the Diamond Bay Police, Captain. What can I do for you this time, over?_ " Lantham asked him.

"I'd like an update on the status of the soldiers still inside the city. Over," Rosenthal requested with a sigh.

" _Last anyone checked, they'd just passed the center of the city and were heading towards the outskirts. That was two hours ago,_ " Lantham replied. Rosenthal closed his eyes and held back a groan of frustration.

"I take it that you've already established curfew by now?" Rosenthal asked.

" _Affirmative. All officers are now indoors with any and all civilians found during the last patrol. Our positions are fortified and we have rotating watch shifts in place now. I'm sorry, but your soldiers are on their own from this point. The safety of the civilians comes first, Captain. At first light, we'll have a city-wide search for more survivors. If we find them, we'll let you know. So, aside from that, how's the evacuation plan coming along?_ " Lantham asked in response.

"We've got three different plans already worked out. We'll discuss them in the morning. For now, just stay alive and contact us at ten-hundred hours tomorrow morning. Rosenthal out," Rosenthal replied before ending the call.

* * *

 **DATE: TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2183, 12:30 HOURS**

 **DIAMOND VALLEY, LV-475**

Slowing the APC down, Harrison rubbed her eyes. Looking at the map on the screen beyond the steering column, she stifled a yawn. "Okay, we're almost there. We're almost back to the base," she said in relief. "We're almost home," she said one last time with a smile.

"All right!" Quail exclaimed with a grin from behind Harrison. He then glanced over at the fuel gauge. "Uh, Sash? Can that last us the rest of the trip?" he asked her. "Huh? Can what last us?" she asked him in return, forcing him to point at the fuel gauge, which was dangerously low.

Harrison gulped. "Y-Yeah. As long as we don't stop the engine," Harrison said. Quail nodded his head nervously. "If you say so," he added cautiously as he turned to face a window on the side of the vehicle. He carefully pushed a small cover to the side and looked out the viewing hole to see the trees along the side of road they were traveling down.

Looking out further, Quail could almost make out the faint lights of Diamond Bay in the distance. He tore his gaze away from the faint lights and took in the calm surroundings of the farm lands. It was eerily quiet outside, save for the occasional cricket chirps and other small creatures making noise, but there was an awkwardness to it all that just felt out of place.

Occasionally, Quail could see an abandoned car on the side of the road. There weren't very many, but there were enough to add to the ominous feeling that hung over him and Harrison as they made their way home. It was a feeling of wrongness that made him wonder every now and then if the base would still be intact when they arrived.

Closing the view cover, and walked over to another one on the vehicle's right and moved it aside to look out. There were more trees, along with a view of the mountains in the far distance. "Which road are we on right now?" Quail asked.

"We're on Farmers' Route, going south," Harrison replied. She no longer needed the map at this point, having driven on this particular road plenty of times in the past. However, being inside an APC meant that she couldn't see the road properly, and so she kept the 3D diagram of the map on the screen.

"Do you think those things followed us out here?" Quail asked after a minute of silence as he watched scenery go by.

Harrison shrugged her shoulders as she continued driving the vehicle. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. We'll find out when we reach the base," she replied with a sigh.

As they continued driving through the dark of the night, Quail eventually noticed something in the trees around them. "Shit, I think they did follow us," he muttered as he saw dark shapes running on all fours, weaving around the trees and staying just out of the light. Quail grabbed his new pulse rifle and prepared to aim it through the view slot.

"Qauil, save your ammo," Harrison said sharply. She then switched another monitor on in front of her and set it to night-time view. A bright green tint appeared on of the screen and the footage from the camera feed as Harrison kept going forward.

Soon, Harrison saw the sign for the Wilhelm Poultry Farm on the left, just a few miles up ahead of them. "We're almost home," Harrison muttered to herself in relief. The road remained empty as she kept pushing the APC forward. She noticed a couple of ostriches roaming along the side of the road up ahead and honked the APC's horn when she neared them, sending them scattering back from the road.

Further up ahead, however, she saw something in the middle of the road. As they got closer, it turned out to be an ostrich lying on its side, dead. Its back was facing them, but behind the ostrich were two elongated domed heads as they feasted on the animal's carcass. One alien held the ostriches right leg in its six-fingered hands and it consumed the flesh of its thighs, while the other alien kept its forelimbs atop the animal's torso as it dug in with wild abandon, ripping and tearing at it with its jaws.

Not wanting to find out if the APC's tires would withstand the creatures' corrosive blood, Harrison honked the vehicle's horn as she drove closer. The xenomorphs glanced up from their meal to snarl and hiss at the oncoming machine, putting themselves over the ostrich as they prepared to defend their kill, opening their mouths and revealing their inner jaws as they slowly swayed their heads around in gestures of intimidation.

Harrison honked the horn again, and the creatures only became for staunch in their aggressive defensive postures. "Stupid assholes!" Harrison spat in contempt for the creatures before honking the horn again. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to stop, one creature quickly grabbed the ostrich carcass and placed it on the back of the other creature, between its dorsal tubes. The two creatures then hustled over to the side of the road where they snarled and hissed at the passing vehicle before they dumped the dead ostrich onto the ground to begin eating it again.

Letting out a breath of relief that she didn't even know she had been holding, Harrison then let out a chuckle at her fortune. "Stupid sons of bitches," she snickered. Behind her, Quail nodded his head quietly.

"There's no way those things followed us from the city. Not if they were already this far out here," Quail said contemplatively. "Sash, do you think the base will still be intact by the time we get there?" Quail asked nervously.

"Why don't you find out?" Harrison replied as she gestured for Quail to grab the APC's communications panel. He began fiddling with the controls before remembering that his helmet still had the data for the base's communication frequencies. He quickly switched his headset over to the base's main channel.

"Come in, Army Base A-Zero-Zero-One! This is Specialist Donovan Quail of Wolf Squad, A-Company. Please respond. Over," Quail said into his headset after switching to the base's main comm channel.

There was no immediate response.

"I say again, this is Specialist Donovan Quail of Wolf Squad, A-Company. Please respond! Over," he reiterated over the mike. "Come on! Someone pick up!" he whined desperately.

" _Quail? Quail, is that you?_ " the voice of Rook asked over the headset. Quail let out a guffaw before quickly gathering his wits again.

"Yes! Yes, Rook! Rook, Harrison and I are on our way back to the base!" Quail exclaimed jubilantly.

" _How far away are you? What's your position?_ " Rook asked him. Quail turned to look at the map on the monitor in front of Harrison. "Uh... we're south-bound on Farmers' Route. We're just passing the Wilhelm Farm now," Quail said as he saw the feed silo and store to the left of the APC through the vehicle's small windshield.

"At our current speed, we should arrive at the base in about thirty minutes," Harrison called out as she kept her eyes on the screen in front of her. "Uh, yeah, we'll be there in about thirty minutes. Please have the gates ready for us. These things are already out in the farmlands," Quail said.

" _Affirmative. Just let us know when you're at the gate. I'll be out there to let you in_ ," Rook said.

"Hey, Rook? It's good to hear from you. Quail out," Quail said before hanging up.

"Ha-ha! We're goin' home, baby! We are going _home!_ " Quail squealed in happiness. Harrison had to fight to keep her own smile suppressed. "Just thirty more minutes and we'll be- _what the fuck!?_ " she exclaimed as she saw something enter the APC's field of view. It was one of the creatures, but far larger than any of the ones seen prior.

"What the hell is that thing?" Quail asked as he saw the dinosaur-like biomechanical creature walk slowly across the road in front of them, forcing Harrison to slow down the vehicle. The creature had no eyes, possessed four large dorsal spikes jutting from its back from just behind the round collar protrusions above its shoulders, large digitigrade legs, a segmented bony tail with a sharp bladed tip at the end, and an enlarged and spread out cranium.

The back of the head was elongated, as with all of the xenomorphs, but this one tapered into three points on an almost triangular widening and flattened back portion, almost like some kind of bizarre crown or crest. The outer two points curved slightly inward, while the middle point stayed straight. Harrison slowed down the APC to a halt, but kept the engine running. The large creature in from of them, illuminated by the vehicle's lights, was jet black in coloration with yellow highlights on the arms and legs, just like the smaller ones. Its head also feature yellow highlights in small depressions and on hard veins running across the top.

Using the trees next to it as measurement, Harrison guessed that the creature was at least ten or eleven feet in height. Looking at the musculature present in the creatures arms and legs, as well as seeing the large talons and claws on its hands and feet, Harrison had no desire to provoke the creature. While she knew that the armor of the Police APC would be enough to fend off the human-sized creatures, she doubted that it would offer much protection against this particular creature for more than a minute at most.

Slowly, the creature turned its head and regarded the APC with curiosity, before huffing and walking towards the vehicle. Harrison and Quail both held their breath as the creature walked around them, studying the APC with a series of hisses before it eventually walked away, heading for the Wilhelm Farm in the distance. Without any hesitation, Harrison slowly began moving the APC forward again, letting it move timidly before quickly picking up speed and roaring down the road, away from the hulking monster and its brethren.

"What was that? What the hell was that thing!?" Quail asked in a panic. "I don't know! I don't know!" Harrison shot back in equal fright. She forced herself to take several deep breaths to calm down, before focusing on the road ahead once more. Her eyelids were starting to feel heavy, but she couldn't let herself fall into the welcoming arms of sleep just yet. As Harrison slowly fought against an almost unnatural feeling of drowsiness trying to set in, the APC continued on its way unencumbered for the rest of its journey, much to the relief of the two inside of it.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY...**

Standing outside by the gates, Rook kept a vigilant eye for signs of the approaching soldiers. It had already been thirty minutes, and they had yet to call the base. A look of worry crossed Rook's face as he listened for the sounds of foot steps or even the hum of an engine.

Soon, however, he heard the hum of a vehicle's engine, and the sound of tires rolling over pavement. Keeping a steady hand by the manual controls for the gate, Rook watched as the headlights of a police APC cut through the darkness several meters ahead, growing closer as the vehicle turned at a stop sign up ahead. Rook smiled as he saw the vehicle approach his position.

Behind him, Corporal John Muldoon of Eagle Squad stood by with an M16A12 assault rifle in his hands. Having just finished taking a power nap, with Rook's permission, Muldoon was alert and ready for the first sign of trouble. He also wore a series of reflective patches on his uniform since it was night time.

As the APC strolled up to the gate, Rook quickly pressed the OPEN button on the control panel and watched as the dual gates slid apart from one another. When there was enough berth, the APC moved forward again. Rook waited until the vehicle was well into the base's field before pressing the CLOSE button on the controls, causing the dual gates to slide back into position and lock automatically.

The police APC kept pushing forward until it was almost inside the base's East-end vehicle garage. The blue and white lights of the garage's interior shone brightly as the vehicle finally came to a stop, with Rook and Muldoon slowly trotting up behind it and taking flanking positions near the sides. Rook closed the garage's main door by pressing a button on the control panel nearby.

The engine of the APC soon stopped and the top hatch started to turn before it was pushed open. Muldoon and Rook both waited for Harrison and Quail to pull themselves out of the vehicle, at which point the two exhausted soldiers collapsed into a heap on the cement floor of the garage, both holding their weapons closely to their bodies. Muldoon noticed the Marine pulse rifle in Quail's hands after seeing the M41B in Harrison's hands, noting the differences in bulk and length, as well as coloration, of the weapons.

"Where'd you pick up the Forty-One A?" Muldoon asked Quail curiously. The M41A1, despite being phased out by the rest of the military in favor of the M41B series, was still used by many units within the Colonial Marines. It wasn't an Army weapon.

Quail looked up at Muldoon and let out a sigh in response. "Well, there was this grocery store... with a dairy cooler in the back. We found a dead Marine in there, with one of those things about a foot away. We also found her guns," Quail replied.

Next to him, sitting with her back against the APC, Harrison reached into her uniform and pulled the fallen Marine's dog tags out of her breast pocket. "Here," she said as she handed the tags to Muldoon. "Private First Class J. Clarke," Muldoon read aloud before handing the tags back to Harrison.

"You guys stink," Muldoon said with a frown and a scrunched up nose after he picked up a foul smell.

"Yeah, we were in the sewers for a while," Harrison said tiredly.

"You should get yourselves cleaned up, and then give a mission report to Captain Rosenthal," Muldoon suggested.

"We-We'll do that," Quail said tiredly as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Muldoon offered a hand to help him up, with the soldier gladly accepted. Muldoon then gave the same offer to Harrison, who also accepted. "Come on, let's get inside," Muldoon said as he walked alongside the two exhausted soldiers, helping them up the ramp by the side that led to the entrance door to the rest of the base. He quickly opened the door and motioned for the two soldiers to walk inside ahead of him.

Muldoon then turned back to glance at Rook. "I'll be right back out after I help them get to the barracks. Until then, inspect that APC. Make sure they didn't pick up any hitch-hikers," Muldoon said to the droid. Rook nodded his head in affirmation of the orders.

"Affirmative," Rook said before making his way over to the vehicle.

Back in the hallways of the base, the three soldiers made their way to the barracks. Muldoon quietly observed Harrison and Quail as they tiredly walked alongside him. Harrison's movements slowly became progressively more sluggish over the next few minutes, until her eyelids fluttered and she eventually fell forward onto the floor. Muldoon and Quail both struggled to catch her mid-fall as her legs gave way beneath her and she finally lost consciousness.

"Harrison? Harrison!?" Muldoon asked in concern. When Harrison failed to respond consciously, Muldoon's worry grew. "Harrison! Quail, check for a pulse," Muldoon ordered.

Quail quickly checked her pulse, finding it slow but steady. Next to him, Muldoon looked Harrison over, before he finally noticed the faint purple mark surrounding a cut on her right forearm. "Come on. Let's get her to the infirmary," Muldoon instructed before heaving the almost comatose Harrison up between himself and Quail. The two soldiers quickly carried their comrade to the infirmary, where they soon found themselves waiting for the base's primary medical personnel to arrive.

Meanwhile, out beyond the electrified perimeter fences, dozens of nightmarish creatures waited and plotted.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter 08 of ALIENS: EPIDEMIC. The next chapter will feature more soldier versus alien action.

Now, for those of you wondering, the T37 xenomorphs are actually omnivorous, but prefer a carnivorous diet. The A22 xenomorphs, apart from the one in Alien 3, haven't ever really been shown eating anything after molting from chestbursters into adults. For the T37's, though, any animals that aren't suitable as hosts are eaten or outright slaughtered, depending on their size and how much of a threat they represent to the xenomorphs. Ostriches, for instance, have really long necks that make them unsuitable as hosts, but they aren't really much of a threat either, so they're simply used as food by the aliens.

Deer, however, are used as both, as are the mountain lions and other large predators living on LV-475. Smaller critters like rabbits and skunks and foxes and chickens are either eaten or ignored, although a fox might be a potential host. I will be featuring more xenomorphs derived from other animals on the planet in future chapters. The runners I've featured in previous chapters so far are ones born from coyotes, cougars, and any large pets kept by the colonists on the planet.

Now, for those of you who are curious, I'm not revealing just what type of Xenomorph Harrison and Quail ran into near the end of the chapter. I want all of my readers to guess what it is in either reviews or private messages. Those who guess correctly will be mentioned in the pre-chapter notes of the next chapter.

Also, for those of you curious about the progress of ALIEN: GENESIS... I've been suffering from writer's block on that lately. I know how I want to _end_ the story, but I just don't know how to _get there_ , at least not without some serious pacing problems. So, it'll be a few weeks before I start updating that story again. I'm not abandoning it; I'm just ironing out some necessary plot points to make it all work properly. Again, just give me a few weeks and I'll be ready to start updating it again.

As always, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews! They're always appreciated, no matter how critical!


	9. ASSAULT ON COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001

**ALIENS: EPIDEMIC**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

The majority of this chapter takes place inside the army base. For reference purposes, Colonial Army Base A-001 is very similar in design and layout to the Hadley's Hope colony from _ALIENS_ (1986), albeit with a few differences here and there. It's basically an initial colony complex that's been appropriated and modified for military usage following the development of larger cities and rural areas on the rest of the planet.

Also, the Xenomorph seen at the end of the previous chapter was a Praetorian. Also, I know that I've been focusing a lot of the T-37 strain so far, but in this chapter, the classic aliens make a major reappearance. For this chapter and the rest of the story, the classic or A22 strain will be described as being dark gray with black highlights to match the appearance seen in _ALIEN_ (1979) and _ALIENS_ (1986), especially since most models and figures (NECA's blue and brown figures excluded) tend have that coloration scheme. Also because I think it's cool.

This chapter was written while listening to the soundtracks for _The Terminator_ (1984) by Brad Fiedel, _ALIENS_ (1986) by James Horner, _The Lost World: Jurassic Park_ (1997) by John Williams, _Blue Gender_ (1999 - 2000) by Kuniaki Haishima, and _Congo_ (1995) by Jerry Goldsmith.

From _ALIENS_ : _LV-426_ , _LV-426 (Film-Edit)_ , _Facehuggers_ , _Futile Escape_ , _Ripley's Rescue_ , _Ripley's Rescue (Percussion Only)_.

From _The Terminator_ : _The Police Station, "Fuck You, Asshole_ ", _Reese Dreams Of Future War_.

From _Congo_ : _Hippo Attack_ , _Amy's Nightmare_.

From _The Lost World_ : _Ripples (Crashing the Sleepover)_.

From _Blue Gender_ : _Marine_ , _Tetany_ , _Struggle_ , _Cluster_ , _Jargon_ , _Bluff_.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 09: ASSAULT ON COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001**

* * *

 **DATE: TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2183**

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, DIAMOND VALLEY, LV-475**

Opening her eyes, Corporal Sasha Harrison took in the sight of the infirmary ceiling. "What the... hell? Why am I in _here?_ " she asked in confusion as she slowly took in her surroundings.

The sound of foot steps caught her attention and she glanced to her right to see Rook smiling at her gently. "You're finally awake," he said as he walked over to the bed. Harrison raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"Finally? Rook, what's going on? Why am I in the infirmary?" she asked him. Rook grabbed a data tablet from a nearby table. "Rook?" Harrison asked him curiously as he approached her.

"We had to examine you, Corporal. When you returned to the base last night, you collapsed in the hallway near the barracks. Corporal Muldoon and Specialist Quail brought you here as quickly as they could," Rook explained.

"I... I collapsed? I don't remember any of that," Harrison said in confusion as she lifted her left arm and scratched her head. "You did, according to Specialist Quail. He and Muldoon both carried you in here," Rook explained further.

"Don't worry about any more examinations, though. I performed all of the necessary ones while you were out," Rook said in a comforting tone. This simply confused Harrison even more.

"Examinations? For what? Why did I need to be examined?" she asked the droid. Rook looked at her curiously. "Well, for any parasites, of course," he finally replied in a matter-of-fact manner, as though the answer had been obvious from the start.

"P-Parasites? You mean... you guys thought I might have been infected by those things?" she asked him. Rook nodded his head in affirmation. "Yes, Corporal. At first, we thought that your condition was a result of stress and fatigue, but Corporal Muldoon noticed a bruise on your arm when he and Specialist Quail brought you here to the infirmary. We've already figured out the role that the facehuggers play in the creatures' life cycle, but we didn't want to take the chance that you could have been infected through some other unknown means," Rook explained to her.

"What about the others? Who else made it back? And how much does Captain Rosenthal know?" Harrison asked him. "Captain Rosenthal has already learned about what happened in Diamond Bay from the others. He's currently contacting the commanding officers of the other bases on the continent to enforce a quarantine of the valley until further notice," Rook explained calmly.

"Okay, but what about the others? Who all made it back?" Harrison asked again worriedly. Rook looked at her with a sigh.

"About two thirds of Wolf Squad, less than half of Hornet Squad, and exactly half of Bear Squad made it back, along with Lieutenant Dent, two dropship crews, and myself," Rook answered.

"Where's Don-I mean, Quail?" Harrison asked the synthetic. Rook held out a hand and pointed at a bed over on her left. Harrison looked over and saw Quail sleeping three beds down, lying on his side with his back facing her.

"He's actually been awake for over an hour now, but I've kept him in here as per Lieutenant Hargrove's orders. You both need to present a report to Captain Rosenthal later," Rook stated as he looked over the medical charts on his data tablet. "Oh, by the way, how are you feeling?" he then asked Harrison bluntly.

Harrison stared blankly at Rook while gathering her thoughts. "Uh... confused," she finally replied. Rook silently nodded his head in response. "Would you care for some water?" Rook asked her. "Yeah. S-Sure," Harrison replied tiredly.

"So, you examined me for parasites, right? Did you find anything?" Harrison asked Rook as he walked over to a water cooler and filled a small paper cup with water. "No, you're devoid of parasites. You did, however, have something in your system. A chemical compound that I've been studying for a the past few hours," Rook explained.

Harrison nodded her head as she listened to the droid explain things to her. "Okay, so what kind of chemicals are we talking about here?" she asked him curiously when he paused for a minute. Rook looked back down at his data tablet before glancing back up at her.

"Well, judging by the makeup of the compound, it would appear to be some kind of venom produced by the creatures. Given data provided by Bear Squad's survivors, I believe that its intended purpose is to incapacitate a potential host for safe transport back to the creatures' nesting areas. Tell me, did you make physical contact with the creatures in any way during your escape from Diamond Bay?" Rook asked her.

"Well... I _did_ get a cut on the arm from one of the bastards. It hit me with the barb on its tail when I tried kicking it off of the APC," Harrison said. Rook nodded his head as he processed the information.

"I found traces of the chemical on your arm when I began my examinations. It was dried, but the chemical was still mostly intact. It seems that most of it stayed on the outside of your body when it was delivered from the creature's tail," Rook surmised.

"So, it _poisoned_ me?" Harrison asked him.

"Not poison, Corporal. _Venom_ ," Rook clarified. "Unlike poison, venom only works _inside_ the body. You wouldn't suffer its effects from simply touching it, unless you have an open wound or a sore that would allow it to enter your blood stream," Rook explained.

Harrison looked down at the spot on her arm where she had been cut. The previous night, she had been so focused on simply escaping Diamond Bay and returning to the base that she hadn't paid any mind to the cut or the bruise, even after taking the APC beyond city limits and entering the farmlands. _If that thing had actually_ _ **stung**_ _me instead of just cutting my arm... I could've lost consciousness behind the wheel. Quail and I might_ _ **never**_ _have made it back here_. _Damn. I guess I'm pretty lucky_ , Harrison thought to herself quietly.

"Corporal Harrison?" Rook asked with concern, prompting Sasha to glance up from her arm and look at the technical officer.

"I was just... thinking, Rook. We almost didn't make it back," she said before taking a sip of water. "We got lucky, I guess."

Rook nodded his head in understanding. "Yes. Until you called up the base, we'd begun preparing to add you to the list of casualties," Rook said solemnly. "I'm glad someone made it back alive, though. Anyway, I'm going to perform a few tests on you to see if your motor functions have been impaired in any way, and then I'm going to send you and Specialist Quail off to see Captain Rosenthal to give him your reports," Rook said.

Harrison nodded her head in understanding before finishing the rest of the water in her tiny paper cup.

* * *

 **CAPTAIN ROSENTHAL'S OFFICE...**

Three hours after leaving the infirmary, Harrison and Quail were now standing in front of Captain Rosenthal's desk. Their reports were in his hands, hastily made as they were, but the information both soldiers provided had kept the man quiet as he read them. When he was finished reading the reports, he laid them down in front of him on his desk and looked up at the two soldiers.

"Corporal Harrison and Specialist Quail... thank you for the time you took to compose these reports. Now, I want to ask you some questions," Rosenthal said evenly. "Near the end of your report, you described three of the creatures engaging in battle against one another. I want specifics on this. Was there anything that set the creatures apart from one another that you could see?" Rosenthal asked them.

"Well... the creatures from the alley didn't seem to have the yellow markings that the other creatures had. That's the most obvious difference I can recall, Captain," Harrison replied swiftly. Rosenthal nodded his head.

"Was that your only encounter with the second variety?" Rosenthal asked her. Harrison began to nod her head, only to stop as something occurred to her. "I'm... not entirely certain, sir. While we were inside the grocery store, we saw two varieties of the facehuggers, sir. Tan ones and pink ones with yellow markings. I believe that the ones with yellow markings are, quite obviously, responsible for the larger creatures with yellow markings. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the tan facehuggers are connected to the creatures without yellow markings on them," Harrison said.

"Thank you, Corporal. Now, I don't mean to sound rude, but we'd already figured that much out due to Bear Squad's reports. Inside the mall, they encountered what appeared to be an entire nest of the second variety of creatures," Rosenthal said. "Your summary of the creatures' apparent reproductive cycle, however, is something I find rather interesting," Rosenthal said as he picked up Harrison's report and flipped through it to the extra page that she had included.

"You believe that the creatures can turn their victims' bodies into eggs?" Rosenthal asked her.

"I'm only stating what I observed, Captain. I don't know for certain, but given that we've never encountered these organisms before now, I don't think we should exclude any possibilities just yet," Harrison said in response. Rosenthal nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright, now what about the big creature you saw as you passed the Wilhelm Farm?" Rosenthal asked her.

"We don't know what it is, sir. But... given its size in relation to the other creatures, it's possible that it may be an older specimen, or... it could be the source of the eggs that the facehuggers must be coming from," Harrison suggested. Rosenthal sighed before taking a sip of water from the mug on his desk.

"You stated in your report that the creatures must take on characteristics of their particular hosts, based on the bodies of other animals seen in the sewers," Rosenthal said as he looked at the report again. "Do you think that maybe the big creature just came from a big animal out in the mountains?" he suggested.

"It's possible, sir. My statements are based only on what I've observed," Harrison said. "Then please, Corporal, lay it out for me. Tell me your thoughts on what else we may be dealing with," Rosenthal said. Quail remained silent as he listened to his two superiors converse with each other over his and Harrison's reports.

"Well, given the presence of adult creatures with bodies and limbs similar to those of canines and felines, in addition to the presence of... canine hosts seen in the sewers, I believe that this is a logical conclusion to reach. Furthermore, the fact that these creatures have undoubtedly attacked the homesteads in the mountains means that animals living in those areas would be potential hosts for the parasites as well. Coyotes, deer, mountain lions, bears, wolves, foxes; there are plenty of hosts to choose from," Harrison elaborated before pausing to take a breath.

"The human-spawned creatures are the most numerous in the city because that's where the most humans are found. I'm certain that if there are any nests in the mountains, then creatures spawned from non-human hosts would be the most numerous," Harrison said before taking another breath. Rosenthal nodded his head curtly in agreement with Harrison's reasoning.

"Do we know just how many creatures there are? Either in the mountains or in Diamond Bay?" Rosenthal asked rhetorically. Harrison shook her head in response.

"Harrison, I'm going to make a copy of this report and give it to Rook so that he can study it. I'm going to send another copy to bases Two and Three on the other side of the mountain. If these things are using anything they can find as hosts... then we may be in more trouble than we initially thought. You're both dismissed. Head off to the barracks and report to Sergeant Kellogg for your duties. I need to contact whoever is still alive in Diamond Bay to find out what kind of wildlife population records we have," Rosenthal said firmly. Harrison and Quail both quickly made their way out of the room after giving Rosenthal a brief salute.

* * *

 **UNITED STATES COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, LEVEL B, OPERATIONS CENTER...**

"Okay, so we've had the perimeter fences electrified since yesterday evening, and the backup generator is on standby in case we have an overload," Staff Sergeant Verl Williams said as he looked at a schematic of the base. The base's operations center was a large room containing several computer terminals, desks, raised floor areas with rails, network servers, communications equipment, and a spare set of lockers with a variety of equipment, including emergency rations, weapons, and survival supplies.

Like most colonial buildings originally designed in the 2160's, the primary operations center was located on the second above-ground level of the building, with storm shutters that could be opened or closed over its windows. Unlike most colonial administration-designed buildings, the base also included several features not found in civilian environments, such as defense turrets built into various sections of the building's interior and exterior. The operations center lacked these features, however, as the flood-lights built into the top and bottom of the main windows were wired very specifically in their locations. Every attempt to install turrets meant either losing the flood-lights or relocating the turrets.

Instead of losing the valuable flood-lights, the turrets had thus been designated for a roof-top position overlooking the operations center, with a guard rail erected just below the weapons' adjustable range. A series of ladder-like rails had been added to the exterior as well so that personnel could climb up to the roof from the outside in order to fix the turrets if needed.

The base was also built on a raised artificial hill, to reduce possible damage from flooding during storms.

Standing next to Williams, Sergeant Julio Estevez and the rest of Eagle Squad traced a section of the map that showed the East-End gates and walls. "Has this service tunnel been locked down properly?" Estevez asked Williams curiously.

Tapping on the flat table screen and moving his fingers around, Williams zoomed in on the schematic and enlarged it for everyone. "Yeah. It's been set to flood-ready, so we've got three big doors sealed shut in front of the entrance," Williams said with a smile.

"What about the sewer pipelines?" Corporal John Muldoon asked him.

"Those pipes are too small for those things to fit through. Hell, they're too small for anything bigger than a rabbit to crawl through," Williams responded confidently. Muldoon raised an eyebrow.

"Those facehuggers are about the size of a rabbit," Estevez said, remembering the reports that he'd read.

"Yeah, but the pipes that connect directly to the base's plumbing are too narrow for anything bigger than a rat to fit through. They only get wider as they go farther out towards the city's sewer system and the waste filtration centers," Williams explained. "We won't have to worry about those things coming up through the toilets if that's your concern," he added with a glance and a smirk towards Estevez.

Despite his confidence, Williams had a nagging sensation in the back of his mind that there was something he was forgetting, something important. It kept popping up from time to time, almost on the verge of entering his mind, but he just couldn't place his finger on what he was missing. He had double and triple checked the bases schematics and had sealed every known entrance into the base since the others had returned from Diamond Bay the previous day.

He just couldn't figure out what it was that he was forgetting.

 _Eh, it's probably a supply inventory or some maintenance thing that I was scheduled to do before this whole mess started_ , Williams decided in his head. He was then brought out of his thoughts when Estevez zoomed out of the service tunnel and showed the schematic for the base's perimeter.

"Alright, what about the outer fences? We've got one chain link fence, with no electricity, and then we have the inner fence, fully electrified. The outer fence, though... see, it's right next to a tree line," Estevez said as he looked a the annotations found on the edge of the schematic's map.

"I don't think those trees could hold the weight of those things, could they?" Muldoon asked, knowing that the trees next to the outer fence were small saplings compared to the larger ones further away. Even then, there was still a wide amount of open space between the outer fence and the tree line itself. "I mean, I've seen those trees every time I do a patrol. They're not _that close_ to the fences," Muldoon added.

"Maybe not the full grown creatures, but what about the face-things?" Estevez asked in response. "We don't know how far they can jump, or even if they could slip under the fences," Estevez pointed out. The other soldiers in the room turned their attention to Estevez as they mulled over his words.

"Don't worry about that, Estevez. The electrified fence is sitting on top of a foot-tall cement and concrete wall lining the perimeter. And even if those things do somehow slip under the fence, our defense turrets will rip them to shreds. You and your squad helped me set those up yesterday, remember?" Williams asked him with a chortle.

Estevez and the rest of Eagle Squad had helped Williams and Rook set up at least twenty-four UA 571-C automated sentry turrets around the base's perimeter, with most of them being set up with pairs to provide overlapping fields of fire with 360 degree rotation. The guns had been given both remote links and networked-cable connections running from the base to provide for comprehensive monitoring and access from inside the base. Each gun had a drum holding close to 500 rounds of ammunition, with automatic cut-outs to prevent jamming or ammo cooking from occurring if the guns were to begin overheating.

The sentry units had their sensor arrays mounted above the barrels of the guns to provide a 60 degree cone in front of the weapons. Unfortunately, the weapon had no sensors to detect anything directly behind it, meaning that an enemy could easily disable the gun if they were able to evade detection from the gun's sensors long enough to close the necessary distance. This was part of why the guns were set up in pairs, along with a special Friendly Fire detection mode built into each gun so that neither weapon would destroy the other one if an enemy were to somehow get between them and cause the guns to face each other.

The guns used by the Colonial Army also had an upgraded 'Friendly Fire' mode, thanks to newer IFF transponder modules that could be attached to the weapon. If a registered ally were to enter the field of fire, the gun's onboard computer and otherwise primitive A.I. system could cease fire almost instantaneously if it detected the IFF signal coming from a friendly unit, such as a soldier or a Marine entering the field of fire while evading an enemy in the distance. Small lights were set up on the IFF modules attached to the guns, with red, yellow, and green lights set to light up in the presence of hostile, unidentified, or friendly units, respectively.

The would fire if the red light was illuminated, while it would let out a warning sound if the light was yellow. The warning would last about five minutes if uninterrupted. If the gun was hooked up to a computer system with access to a personnel database, the gun could use its audio sensors and other scanners to hear and/or read the person or an ID tag on them to determine their status or identification when comparing them to the information in the available database.

While the IFF system already existed in the gun's previous sensors, the newer modules allowed for more autonomy from the guns in the event that anyone operating the devices was unavailable to command them at a particular moment. The newer IFF modules also shut down the older systems when attached, overriding them until either removed or damaged.

Of course, the gun's sensors also were based partially on movement, so an enemy that was already hiding when the guns were set up would, unfortunately, remain undetected until they moved. An enemy that moved stealthily or slowly enough to avoid setting off the sensors could also avoid being turned into Swiss cheese as well if they had enough patience. To offset this problem, the gun's sensors also detected and scanned temperatures as well, both ambient and otherwise, to provide infrared and thermal data for the onboard computer to use when assessing a potential target.

Almost all other functions of the guns remained the same as before, however, including the guns' ability to determine the amount of ammo to use on a target depending on their profile, in addition to remote manual usage of the IFF sensors, and even manual controls for targeting if the sensors were damaged or the remote links were rendered useless.

"Yeah," Estevez said with a hint of embarrassment at his memory lapse, "I remember."

Looking at the schematics further, Williams felt that faint nagging sensation return again.

 **MEANWHILE, ON THE ROOF...**

"And that's the last one," Private Maria Weller said as she and the rest of Cougar Squad finished performing their checkup on the perimeter scanners and roof-top sensors. The checkup required them to use the manual systems of the devices along with laptops to perform diagnostics on the firmware of the devices. All but two of the perimeter scanners and sensors had performed at acceptable levels.

The two failures were now being run through additional diagnostic scans for more thorough troubleshooting. So far, it had been determined that the performance problems were most likely mechanical in nature, as some of the physical parts appeared to be needed to be in need of replacement. Fortunately, given the modular nature of the sensors and scanners, the malfunctioning devices could be shut down for maintenance without affecting the rest of the base's networked scanning and sensor systems.

Looking out into the distance south of the base, Weller paused and took in the sight of the forests and plains that made up the valley, before glancing over at the distant Rossfield Mountains west of the base. It really was a beautiful sight, although the knowledge that there were horrifying rape monsters lurking about tainted her appreciation of the natural splendor surrounding of her and the rest of the facility that she and the other soldiers called home. Picking up a pair of binoculars, Weller looked out further towards the edge of the forest near the farmlands in the distance.

A red-tailed hawk could be seen flying above the tree tops, with a few smaller birds moving around elsewhere. The sky was mostly clear and blue, although gray storm clouds could be seen in the distance. The weather-monitoring stations, mostly autonomous thanks to their advanced computer systems and oddly primitive A.I.'s, had already forecast a rain storm later in the evening. With the cool air slowly growing warmer each hour, the soldiers of Army Base A-001 knew that they had to have everything finished before the rain hit.

The basic defense grid had been activated the previous day, but now they had to work on the rest of the base's systems, including contingency protocols, fire exits, close-quarters combat plans, and emergency escape routes in the unlikely event that the base's defenses were breached.

Glancing down below, Weller saw the sentry guns on the ground, positioned several dozen meters away from the exterior walls of the base's multiple connecting buildings, and several more dozen meters away from the electrified inner fence. Most of the ground in front of the base was dirt, but several meters away, grass filled the rest of the area. A few butterflies and bees could be seen flying near various flower patches in the ground, along with a flower garden planted near one of the greenhouses. A few birds, such as robins and finches, could be seen hopping around near bushes and one tree stump nearby.

And then, near the edge of the outer fence, a large grey animal could be seen. "Top! We've got a visitor at the North-East corner!" Weller called out to Sergeant Brent Halvorson of Cougar Squad.

"Hostile or Friendly!?" Halvorson asked her as he crouched down in front of a laptop connected to a disabled scanner.

"Hostile! Non-Human!" Weller called back. She watched as the ridge-headed creature inquisitively moved towards the fence and ran one of its front limbs on it. The creature slowly rose up on it hind legs as it placed both front limbs on the fence and began to climb.

"We're about to have our first kill!" Weller called out, causing the rest of the squad to make their way over to her position and pull out their own binoculars. Weller pointed her right arm forward so that they all knew where to look. "Who wants to bet that it goes back to the forest?" Private First Class Leonard Feldman asked.

"Fuck that," Specialist Milton spat. "I wanna see it get blown to pieces by the sentry guns," he added with a smirk. " _Payback_ for Diamond Bay," he added once more.

Everyone looked through their binoculars as the lone alien carefully made its way up the fence before climbing over it and descending to the other side.

"Who bets that it gets killed by the inner fence?" Corporal Tomoko Fukuda asked with a grin.

"I bet it gets torn up by the sentry guns," Private Gerald Waites spoke up.

"Ha! I'm betting it gets done in by _both_ ," Private First Class Janet Maddock said.

"No fair! That's cheating," Private Dennis Meyer said with a frown.

"Is not," Maddock retorted, shaking her head.

"Enough, guys. No gambling," Sergeant Halvorson said, interrupting his subordinates as he scowled at them. "Especially not when we've still got work to do. We'll wait for it to die or retreat, but once it does either, we go back to our posts. Clear?" he asked as he looked around at his squad.

"Crystal, sir," Private First Class Tom Richardson said.

The squad soon returned to watching as the runner soon began making its way towards the inner fence, traversing several meters of grass and dirt before reaching the foot-tall cement and concrete barrier that the fence was built upon and into. The runner slowly moved its head towards the fence and seemed to inspect it hesitantly, as though it knew there was something about it that was different from the previous fence. It backed up a foot before slowly reaching it front left paw forward, letting its fingers just graze the fence when it let out a hiss and backed away, opening its mouth and extending its inner jaws.

The creature's tail soon poised itself like a serpent about to strike as it rose over its back, the slightly curved bladed tip pointing forward as the creature soon tried touching another section of the fence, only to experience the same electric shock again. Looking up, the creature aimed its head towards the soldiers on the roof othe main building, before it turned around and retreated back over the outer fence and into the forest. It took one last glance back out at the base before disappearing into the underbrush and beyond the tree line.

"Damn! Coward! Shit! Bastard!" most of the soldiers cursed amongst themselves as the creature ran away.

"It boldly ran away, away! Brave, _brave_ Sir Monster!" Specialist Jun Maeda sang to himself. The rest of the squad slowly turned to look at him in silent bewilderment as he continued singing.

Weller, however, kept her glance on the fence. "Hey, why didn't the sentry guns fire?" she asked rhetorically. The other soldiers glanced over at her before looking down at the sentries lining the ground. True to her question, the guns had not fired a single round at the creature.

"They must be too far away from the fence. Maybe they need to be moved a few meters closer to the edge of the perimeter," Sergeant Halvorson suggested. "Some one call up Eagle Squad and tell them to get outside and move those turrets closer to the fence. Or better yet, I'll tell 'em," Halvorson said before walking over to an outdoor comm panel.

* * *

 **COLONIAL ARMY BASE A-001, LEVEL B, HOURS LATER...**

Lieutenant Kimberly Hargrove looked out the windows of the base's primary recreation room, which held a Foosball table, a ping pong table, a few book shelves, an entertainment center with a large television screen, two pylons between the floor and ceiling for cables and wiring, several board games, and some holographic tables for various games, including one that contained an adult entertainment program with a holographic stripper. The rain was coming down hard now, almost thunderous in its intensity. The sky was gray, and the visibility outside was almost nonexistent past three feet, if even that.

The recreation room was currently being used as a meeting room and secondary operations center with one of the pool tables being cleared off as members of Python Squad used laptops to monitor the outside sentry gun turrets. Glancing back over at the soldiers as they monitored the sentry guns through their laptops, Hargrove let out a listless sigh. Hearing footsteps behind her, Hargrove turned to glance at Rook, who had a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Here," he said as he held the ceramic cup forward, offering it to her. "I used the French Vanilla creamer and some sugar, as you've requested in the past," Rook said with a gentle smile. Hargrove nodded her head before taking the coffee from the droid.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the main operations center with Williams and Eagle Squad?" Hargrove asked after taking a sip of the beverage.

"We've already completed our scheduled tasks. The base's automated systems are all fully online now," Rook explained. "The other squads are now simply performing patrols and whatever Captain Rosenthal sees fit to assign them at the moment. It's been rather uneventful since the rain started," Rook added as he glanced over at the windows of the large room.

Hargrove briefly glanced over at the windows and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. After all the hustle and bustle earlier today... this... _silence_... just seems awkward. We were all waiting for those things to just start swarming the fences at some point," she said before taking another sip of her beverage, savoring the taste before swallowing it. Rook had given it time to cool slightly before bringing it to her.

"Um, Lieutenant? In two hours, Captain Rosenthal will be calling a meeting for all of the squads and dropship crews. He and Lieutenant Dent are almost finished working out the evacuation plan for the surviving residents of Diamond Valley," Rook said. Hargrove nodded her head in understand.

Just as she was about to take another sip of her coffee, an alarm went off. Over at one of the pool tables, Specialist Irving Fuller sat up in attention. "The fences!" he called out as he saw the visuals displayed on the sentry gun's camera feed.

* * *

Ten runners leapt at the electrified fence in the rain, backing off which each shock and jolt of electricity as the rain poured down. One of them, however, got its front hand stuck in an awkward spot in the fence, and the rain gave the fence's electric current the conductivity it needed to fry the creature. The other aliens backed off as they watched their comrade cook to death as its skin blackened and smoked, with pockets of blood boiling before popping and spraying out onto the ground and the fence.

The corrosive blood hit the electrified fence and caused a series of sparks to occur, with smoke rising briefly before the rain pushed down through. Due to the proximity of the body and its moving tail, the sentry guns finally opened fire. A hail of bullets began tearing through the dying creature, ending the alien's life quickly as it was filled with holes.

The now-dead creature's tail thrashed around violently before finally falling to the ground. The other runners looked at their dead comrade and soon began looking at where the fence had been hit by its blood. Another creature rushed over to the fence and began trying to climb it, hoping to use its speed to its advantage. Sparks shot off and electric current flowed through it, before the sentry guns before firing at it in controlled bursts, blowing its limbs off and sending it falling back to the ground.

Some of the runners began slashing at the fence with their tails, trying to cut the wires and metal links with their tail blades. They began spreading out as they tested the fence for weaknesses, searching for a way in. Finally, they began using a technique that some of their brethren lacked.

* * *

"Jesus! That current's strong enough to kill a man!" Corporal Rupert Spencer exclaimed as he watched the creatures attaching the fence on his sentry gun's remote camera feed. "And they're just... they're just... inconvenienced by it," he said in disbelief. He saw brief flashes from the muzzles of the turrets as the creatures continued attacking the fence outside.

Walking away from Specialist Fuller and looking over Spencer's shoulder, Rook examined the footage.

"Incredible," he said in awe.

"What? What's incredible?" Hargrove asked the droid as she walked over to him and looked at the laptop screen. Rook never once took his eyes off of the laptop screen as he began talking.

"Look at how they're attacking the fence. They aren't striking the same place twice. They're _testing_ it for weaknesses," Rook said in awe of the creatures' apparent, albeit still primitive in comparison to that of humans and his own, intelligence.

"How the hell can you tell through all of that mess?" Spencer asked him skeptically, referring to the rain that was pouring down and keeping visibility low.

"I'm basically a walking computer, Corporal. I can easily process this data and analyze it at twice the rate you can," Rook said in a rare boast for himself. "At this rate, they'll soon realize that they can't get in. They might even leave us alone after this," Rook said optimistically.

"Let's hope so," Hargrove said before sipping on her coffee.

* * *

Inside the primary operations center, Captain Rosenthal and Lieutenant Dent were huddled around a table with Sergeant Estevez, while the rest of Eagle Squad watched the various monitors displaying the security footage from outside, showing the creatures assaulting the inner fence. Staff Sergeant Williams smirked as he watched the creatures continually rush the fence only to be sent back by electric current and turret fire. The bastards didn't stand a chance.

Meanwhile, over at the trio huddled together, Captain Rosenthal was laying out part of his plan for Eagle Squad. "Fire teams will move section by section. You'll scour every centimeter you pass until the whole structure is cleaned out. Once the space elevator is secured, we need to set up defenses to keep it that way until the civilians have boarded the shuttles. The Marine transport ships will take care of them from there. Now, after we-"

The lights went out.

"What the hell!?" Private Felicia Perez cried out in alarm, quickly grabbing her pulse rifle and clutching it to her chest.

Soon, red emergency lights came on, before eventually fading out as small white lights took their place. The illumination wasn't as powerful as before, but it was enough to let everyone see each other and their surroundings. "What just happened!? What just happened!?" Corporal Muldoon asked in a slight panic, before he took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Captain Rosenthal looked over at one of the computer terminals, seeing the boot-up screen signalling that the computers had restarted themselves. "Must've been a brown-out," Rosenthal concluded. "The perimeter defenses must've overloaded briefly, what with those things constantly shocking themselves," he added in an effort to convince himself.

"Are the fences _down!?_ " Perez asked fearfully.

"No, look at the monitors," Estevez said as he pointed to the devices. The creatures were still being forced back by turret fire and electrical current. The fences were still online.

"Then what the hell happened?" Muldoon asked curiously.

"It might be a circuit breaker issue, or a problem with the main generator. The fences draw power from their own separate system, but it's still connected to the primary generator by a special monitoring module. I'll head down to the generator room and check it out," Williams said after grabbing an SMG. "I'll make sure the system is fully online again," he added as he made his way over to the door.

"Hey, Williams! Make sure you radio in on your headset or the comm system if you need extra hands down there. And I expect you to call in on the comm system in about thirty minutes regardless," Rosenthal called out to Williams. Williams nodded his head in response before the door slid open and he quickly exited the room. The door quickly slid closed behind him.

"Alright, everyone wait here until he returns. The fences are still online, so we know that those things haven't breached the perimeter, and the turrets have their own battery packs to keep them going for a while," Rosenthal said confidently. Everyone seemed to breathe easy after hearing his words, convinced that they were still safe. Still, some of the soldiers kept their guns clutched to their chests and armor anyway.

 **FORTY MINUTES LATER...**

Looking down at his watch, Rosenthal sighed. "Shit, he was supposed to call in ten minutes ago," he muttered. He then tapped the mike on his headset. "Staff Sergeant Williams, please come in. What's your status, over?" Rosenthal asked.

There was no response.

"Staff Sergeant Williams, please respond. Over," Rosenthal said again. A small pit began to form in his stomach as he repeatedly attempted to call Williams to no avail. "Williams please respond! Over!" Rosenthal said urgently over his headset.

"I'll go check on him," Corporal Muldoon said as he grabbed his M41B1 pulse rifle and walked over to the door.

"I'll go with you," Private First Class Alfred Sanchez said as he grabbed his tactical shotgun and joined Muldoon over by the door.

"You both call in the moment you reach the generator room, understand? No delays, nothing," Rosenthal said sternly. Muldoon glanced at him and nodded his head.

Looking around the rest of the personnel in the room, all of whom were wearing standard gray urban-patterned combat fatigues and the occasional tactical vest, Rosenthal cleared his throat, gesturing for Muldoon and Sanchez to linger just a bit longer before leaving. "Everyone keep their weapons close. Those things out there may not be inside the perimeter, but that doesn't mean we couldn't have had a lone visitor scaling the fences prior to the defense grid coming online yesterday. So stay frosty."

"Don't worry, we'll stay alert," Muldoon said before the door slid open and he and Sanchez exited the room.

* * *

 **THE MESS HALL**

Meanwhile, inside the mess hall, the remnants of Wolf Squad, Hornet Squad, and the remaining dropship pilots huddled together as they held their weapons close. Nearly everyone in the base was carrying a weapon after what had happened in Diamond Bay. Nobody wanted to be caught off guard on what was their home territory.

"Always when we're trying to eat," Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg muttered bitterly before he brought a lukewarm slice of pizza up to his mouth. Beside him, Private First Class Marlon Warner swallowed the cornbread he had been eating. Next to him, Specialist Quail held his new M41A1 pulse rifle close as he aimed it at the ceiling tiles. He remembered how the creatures had maneuvered inside of the hospital the previous day, and while there hadn't been any confirmation that the creatures had breached the base's perimeter, he wasn't willing to take any chances.

Next to Quail, Harrison had her M41B1 pulse rifle ready as her pizza slice lay half-eaten on her tray. Sitting nearby, Specialist Rosario and the rest of Fire Team Charlie, including privates Deidre Miller, Robert Stewart, and Kyle Anderson, were all wiping their hands so that the grease from their pizza didn't cause any problems. The enemy was at the gates, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Over at another table, Corporal Elizabeth Trudeau held a motion tracker in one hand and her M16A12 assault rifle in the other as she scanned the floors and corners of the cafeteria, every shadow a potential hiding spot for the enemy. Private Barry Cox, the only surviving member of Fire Team Delta, held his shotgun tightly in both hands, his food completely forgotten on the tray in front of him. Sitting next to him, Specialist Ryan Miller held an M41B1 pulse rifle in his hands with a death grip.

Sitting on the other side of the table, Private Selina Kenner kept her eyes focused on the rain outside, watching the occasional muzzle flash as the turrets fired at the approaching monsters beyond the fence. Nearby, Private Timothy Andersmith held his pulse rifle close to his chest as he stared at his half-empty plate of food. With a gulp, he looked up at the rest of the soldiers in the room, before his gaze settling upon the windows of the mess hall. His mind immediately began working on an escape plan in case the creatures were to somehow breach he perimeter.

* * *

 **LEVEL D...**

As Corporal Muldoon and PFC Sanchez approached the door to the generator room on Level D, which was the base's below ground level, Muldoon brought up a motion tracker. Sanchez glanced at him curiously. Muldoon, noticing Sanchez's glance, simply shrugged in response. "Better safe than sorry," he added quietly.

Sanchez slowly nodded his head in understanding before pressing the button to open the door in front of them. The door slid open with a hiss, and the tracker let out a quick ping. The two soldiers quietly stepped into the dark room, slowly scanning for signs of Williams.

"Sergeant Williams?" Muldoon called out softly as he scanned the room. Various pipes and bundles of wires lined the walls, along with cable boxes and breaker switches. A mesh-wire cage surrounded the primary generator over in the far corner of the room, its door hanging open and dented in various places, the wires ripped out and loose screws lying on the floor.

Something wet and shiny could be seen on the floor around the generator, with small puddles seen elsewhere nearby. A vent grate could be seen lying on the floor near a series of pipes, just near a dehumidifier. A grate for a maintenance duct could also be seen lying on the floor, busted and dented as it had been ripped from its hinges.

A sinking feeling of dread began to fill Muldoon as he and Sanchez scoured the room for signs of Staff Sergeant Williams. There was nothing to indicate the man's presence. Muldoon quickly walked over to the comm panel near the door and entered the code for the primary operations center. "Captain?" Muldoon spoke into the comm panel's speaker.

" _I'm listening, Muldoon. Give me a sit-rep_ ," Rosenthal requested.

"There's no sign of Williams yet, sir. But... I think we've had unwelcomed visitors at some point," Muldoon said as he looked over at Sanchez, who was inspecting the generator.

"The cage door is opened, and there are some vent covers lying on the ground. Sir, something was in here earlier, and it wasn't Williams," Muldoon said as dread began to take hold. " _Alright, see if the generator needs fixing and then continue searching for Williams. Stick together and make your way back up here at the first sign of trouble. Rosenthal out_ ," the Captain said.

Muldoon pulled himself away from the comm panel and then briskly jogged over to Sanchez, who was crouching down by the bottom of the generator. "Okay, what's wrong with the generator?" Muldoon asked him. Sanchez looked up at him with a worried expression.

"These wires here and here," Sanchez said as he pointed to two separate sets of exposed wires, "are torn to pieces. They're redundant wires, but they're gonna cause problems if they aren't replaced with new ones. And these over here... are gone, man. They're just... we gotta get a whole new set of wires for these. I'm talkin' dumping the old car for a new one. Until then, we need to switch on the backup generator," Sanchez said.

Muldoon looked at all of the batches of wires and cables connected to the generator, seeing which ones were scarred, and which ones had been ripped apart by brute force. Some of them had been sliced apart, while others appeared to have been... clamped or bitten with something. Others were pulled and loose, but so very few were still in their proper spots without damage.

"Can the backup generator power the fences and the rest of the defense grid by itself?" Muldoon asked him.

"Yeah, it should. But... I don't know the exact procedure for switching between generators while keeping everything online. The only procedure that I'm familiar with is basically shutting down the primary generator a few seconds before switching the backup one on," Sanchez replied hesitantly.

"But... those things are at the fences right now," Muldoon said. "If they realize for even a second that our defenses are down... Shit, they'll just tear right through the fence. The electric current is the only thing stoppin' 'em," Muldoon said in grim realization.

"Johnny, we've already got one of those things in the base," Sanchez said before pointing at a few spots on the generator. Muldoon followed the direction of Sanchez's fingers and saw the claw marks near the torn wires. "I don't know how or when, but one of those things got inside the base," Sanchez finished darkly.

"How? How would any of those things get inside the base without anyone knowing? Even without the base being on red alert, we'd still be alerted to an intruder if someone tried sneaking over the fences. We've got security cameras!" Muldoon hissed in frustration.

Taking a breath to calm himself, Muldoon quickly scanned the room as he held his pulse rifle steady. "Okay, let's inform Captain Rosenthal and get Rook down here. At the very least, he should be able to help us get the backup generator online without too much trouble," Muldoon said. Sanchez nodded his head in agreement before standing up.

As the two soldiers slowly made their way back over to the comm panel, Muldoon heard a beep on his motion tracker. Slowly lifting the device up, he and Sanchez looked down as the beeps continued alongside clusters of white dots moving around their position. "That... could be another squad. Couldn't it?" Sanchez asked Muldoon.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"No, it's set to IFF recognition," Muldoon said grimly.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

Muldoon quickly rushed over to the comm panel by the door. "Captain Rosenthal, come in!" he spoke urgently. Sanchez held his shotgun up and kept his back by Muldoon, his wide eyes scanning the dark corners of the room and under the desks and monitoring terminals.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

" _Status report, Corporal Muldoon?_ " Rosenthal asked over the comm.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Captain, we've got company. Those things are inside the perimeter. I don't know how they got in, but they're here. They're inside the base," Muldoon relayed as he glanced down at the motion tracker.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"We also need to switch on the backup generator, but we don't know any procedure that won't require shutting off the primary generator first," Muldoon added hurriedly.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

" _Okay. Stand by and wait for assistance. I'm gonna send Rook to your location, along with an escort. Defend the generator room from any and all hostiles. I'm going to issue an alert for the rest of the base. Rosenthal out_ ," Rosenthal said over the comm speaker.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

The captain's voice soon broke out over the intercom. " _ **Attention! Attention, all personnel! We have experienced a perimeter breach and have an unknown number of hostiles inside the base! Technical Officer Rook, please report to the generator room and assist the personnel already there in activating the backup generator. Rosenthal out**_ ," Rosenthal said over the speaker system.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

Muldoon and Sanchez both looked at each other with very faint reassurance. "Somehow... I really don't feel all that better about the situation," Sanchez quipped. Muldoon nodded his head with a frown.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Same here," Muldoon said in agreement. He made one more glance around the room, before his gaze settled on a discarded headset lying on the floor near a set of pipes, along with a discarded SMG. There was a slime-like substance on the floor near both objects, along with Williams's cap. There was, however, no blood or any other visible sign of a struggle. There was no blood and no Williams.

* * *

 **LEVEL B...**

Michael Rook quickly jogged through the corridors before taking a left turn at a flight of stairs and descending to the next level. He had a tool kit in his hands, not that he really needed one, but it was always good to be prepared, and a pistol holstered to his side. Making his way down the next flight of stairs, Rook paused as he saw the lights begin to flicker in the hallway ahead of him on Level C. Stepping off of the stairs to take a closer look at the lights soon revealed something else to the android.

The lights themselves were set up as standard long fluorescent tubes, with a set of lattice-work grates propped beneath them for protection. Looking closer at the floor, Rook noticed that the lights were working fine. The spots of darkness were actually shadows moving across the floor.

Rook stared incredulously at the shadows as they moved across the hallway, momentarily blocking the lights before letting them shine again, until another shadow appeared. Tapping his headset, Rook called up Captain Rosenthal. "Captain, this is Rook. We have a problem," Rook said.

" _I'm already aware of the presence of one or more hostiles in the base_ ," Rosenthal replied in a resentful tone.

"No, they're already on level C," Rook said.

" _Can you see them?_ " Rosenthal asked.

"I can see their shadows. They're moving in the ceiling, just under the lights. They're moving to the North end of the complex, Captain. Do you want me to initiate emergency lockdown for Level C?" Rook asked into his mike.

" _Do it, Rook. Do a level-wide lock and then get down to Level D and fix the generators. I'll initiate a Code Red as soon as you have the backup generator running,_ " Rosenthal said.

"Understood. Rook out," Rook said before heading over to a panel on the side of the wall near the stairs. He quickly entered a 4-digit code to access the panel and opened the cover before setting down his tool kit and retrieving his key card from his jumpsuit. He swiped his card through the reader on the panel and entered an access code before grabbing a lever and pulling down, causing the various doors on the level to begin closing shut. Rook quickly closed the cover on the panel and made his way back to the stairs before the door closed behind him.

Sighing in relief at his fortune, Rook quickly resumed his trek down the stairs and soon landed on Level D. He quickly made his way through the corridors heading for the generator room, before he began pondering just how the creatures had gotten inside the base. He began using a stored copy of the base's schematics in his memory banks to search for potential weak spots in the defense grid as he jogged through the corridors.

* * *

 **PRIMARY OPERATIONS CENTER...**

"Come on, there's gotta be something here," Rosenthal said as he looked at a schematic layout of the base. "There had to be a weakened point in the fence when the brownout occurred," he muttered as he had the computers perform a diagnostic scan on the defense grid. "Come on, where is it?" he asked quietly.

"Captain, I thought you said that one of the creatures got inside before we set up the grid," Estevez pointed out.

"Yeah, _one_ of the creatures. Rook just reported with certainty that more than one are crawling around the ceiling of level C. For that many to get in here, there had to be a breach somewhere," Rosenthal explained. He continued scanning the schematics with a diagnostic program running as he looked over the various exits and entrances into the base.

"Maybe it's something that isn't in the schematics," Lieutenant Dent suggested. Rosenthal and Estevez both turned to look at him curiously. "Well, couldn't it?" Dent asked them as he walked over to the main table.

"What's the date on this schematic? Are these floor plans up to date?" Dent asked as he looked over them. Rosenthal scoffed at him.

"Yeah, they're up to date. We just updated them three months ago," Rosenthal said condescendingly. Dent shot him a glare before looking back down at the floor plans.

"Unless you think those things burrowed underground and dug into the base from below," Rosenthal added.

"No, the concrete barriers are too thick, and they go down too deep. The only soft spot is located... wait a minute," Dent said as something dawned on him. He started remembering something of extreme importance. "Check the plans for level D. There's something... something down there that we should have looked at when setting up the defense grid," Dent said.

"What? What's down there? Is there loose soil or a weakened part of the barrier?" Estevez asked in concern.

"No, not that. It's something else," Dent said his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember exactly what was so important. "It's... oh _shit_ ," Dent swore as he finally remembered.

"What? What is it!?" Rosenthal asked him. Dent looked at him with wide eyes.

"The escape tunnel," Dent said with a gulp.

"The... the _what?_ " Estevez asked him confused.

"The _escape tunnel_ ," Dent said again, this time with emphasis in his voice.

Rosenthal looked at Dent skeptically, until he began to realize what the man was talking about. "Shit. Shit! _Shit! Shit!_ " Rosenthal swore as he realized the magnitude of the oversight. "How could we have forgotten!?" he asked rhetorically.

"What escape tunnel? What are you guys talking about!?" Estevez asked them, causing the rest of Eagle Squad to focus their attention on their three superior officers. Rosenthal looked down at the schematics and slammed a fist on the table.

"Attention, all personnel. This is Captain Rosenthal speaking. I am initiating a Code Red alert. Weapons free and ready to fire at will. Remember to check your targets, and watch for friendly fire. Rosenthal out," Rosenthal said into his mike as he tapped into a base-wide channel.

"Okay, what the hell is the escape tunnel!?" Estevez asked in an urgent tone.

"It's exactly what it sounds like!" Dent snapped at him. "It's a secret tunnel connected to storage room D-Six. It's hidden by a closet built into the wall, and it's connected to an emergency bunker all the way out in the woods. The bunker is situated directly underneath a tool shed," Dent explained.

"Well, why isn't it on the schematics!?" Estevez asked him incredulously.

"It's not shown on the schematics because if an enemy were to ever capture the base, they'd find it. Only key personnel are supposed to know about it, so that they can escape or re-take the base later on without being detected," Dent finished. "It doesn't even have security devices lining it, Sergeant. It's just a tunnel with the minimum necessary structural support. No lights, no speakers, no cameras, no motion sensors, nothing. Just a tunnel between the base and an emergency bunker under a tool shed out in the forest," Dent said coldly.

"And no one thought to check on it!?" Estevez cried out in horror.

"We forgot about it," Rosenthal admitted reluctantly. "The only people who ever use it are Rook and Sergeant Williams. And they only use it when performing the monthly security check," Rosenthal added.

"Well, we've gotta close it then," Estevez said.

"No shit, Sherlock," Dent spat in response.

"Dent, you and Estevez head down to storage room D-Six and seal the tunnel. Take the rest of Fire Team January with you," Rosenthal ordered. Dent looked his superior in the eyes and nodded his head. Because the base was now considered a combat zone, Dent refrained from saluting his superior.

"Alright, you heard the man. Fire Team January, let's go!" Dent said as he and Sergeant Estevez led the soldiers out of the room and into the hallway. The door slid to a close behind them.

* * *

 **THE MESS HALL, LEVEL C...**

The remnants of Wolf Squad looked at the rain outside the windows as they checked their weapons and gear following Rosenthal's base-wide announcement. Glancing at a motion tracker resting on a nearby table, Sergeant Benjamin Kellogg stared at the blank screen, watching as a small thin band expanded from the center as the device checked for movement with a faint hum. So far, there had been no sign of activity since the brownout, but after Rosenthal's announcement, everyone was feeling on edge.

Harrison and Quail, both still recovering from their harrowing escape from Diamond Bay, kept their weapons trained on the ceiling. Specialist Jose Rosario glanced down at his own motion tracker, which he'd been carrying around all day, even before the storm, and watched it with an expectant gaze as he held his M16A12 in his right hand. He sat on a bench with his back to the table as he continually glanced around the room.

The pouring rain and occasional turret fire from outside soon faded into the background for him, but they also made him wary as he watched his tracker. A single beep could easily be missed thanks to the background noise of the rain outside, and Rosario had no desire to be caught off guard after what he and the others had experienced in Diamond Bay. It had been sheer luck that his was the only fire team to escape intact, as everyone else had lost one or two people per team.

Next to Wolf Squad, the base's remaining dropship pilots held tightly onto their SMGs. Corporal Hank Parker, co-pilot of the Leaf Clipper, slowly took a bite out of an apple as he glanced over at the motion tracker in Rosario's hand. Hearing the sound of the apple being bitten into, Rosario looked at Parker with a frown.

Sitting on the seat next to Parker, Warrant Officer Lisa Newark shook her head in incredulity at her co-pilot's ability to continue eating during their current predicament. "Parker, Parker, Park-" BEEP-BEEP. Everyone turned their attention to the tracker.

"Y-You all heard that, right?" Harrison asked as she glanced at Rosario's tracker. A few feet away, Kellogg glanced down at his own tracker, which soon produced another beep of its own, followed by another, and another. Everyone gulped and gripped their weapons tightly as they watched the small clusters of white dots appear on the trackers, moving ever closer to their position. Soon, all of the motion trackers were beeping in unison.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

The group quickly began moving back from the doors. Both squads remained somewhat apart from each other, however, although Private Andersmith of Hornet Squad was already making his way towards the windows of the cafeteria. He was still refining his escape plan in his mind as he listened to the beeps of the motion trackers.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Twelve meters," Rosario said as he looked down at his motion tracker.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"That's just outside the room," Harrison muttered as she kept her pulse rifle aimed at the cafeteria's ceiling. Quail did the same. Kellogg kept his gun aimed at the door of the cafeteria, while Rosario and the others scanned for various vent covers that could provide entrance points for the creatures.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Eleven meters," Kellogg said as he eyed his tracker. Andersmith nervously glanced over at the windows as sweat began pouring down his face from fear. "Ten meters," Kellogg said after another minute.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"N-Nine meters," Trudeau said with a gulp.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Then they're right on top of us!" Specialist Miller hissed as he aimed his gun at the doors.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Jesus! Look at how many there are!" Kenner said as she glanced down at Trudeau's tracker. She gripped her rifle even tighter in her hands.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"How the hell did they get inside the base!?" Cox asked as he gripped his shotgun tightly with white knuckles.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

Andersmith looked outside at the turrets and the fences. Even through the almost-torrential downpour, he could see the turret fire and the occasional spark as the creatures attacked the fences. "The fences are still up," Andersmith noted curiously.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Well then how did they get inside!?" Newark asked him as she gripped her SMG.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

It was then realization hit Kellogg. "Dammit! We forgot to seal the tunnel!" he spat in anger.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Tunnel? _What_ tunnel!?" Harrison asked him. The dots were moving closer, and the beeps were getting louder.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Shit, seven meters now!" Specialist Miller said as he looked closely at Trudeau's motion tracker.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"They must be in the ceiling," Rosario spat with grim realization.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Yeah, but what about this tunnel?" Harrison asked pointedly again.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"It's an emergency escape route known only to a handful of personnel. Its purpose is for secret retreat and re-entrance from and into the base in the event that it were ever captured by an armed enemy faction. We must've overlooked it," Kellogg finally explained.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Overlooked it?" Harrison asked him. "How the _**HELL**_ do you _overlook_ something like that!?" she shrieked at her superior officer. Kellogg glanced back at her with a frown. "It's not featured in the base's schematics, and only Staff Sergeant Williams and Rook ever use it! Hell, I'll bet that even Captain Rosenthal has forgotten about its existence!" Kellogg snapped right back at his subordinate.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"Six meters and... holding?" Rosario said curiously as he looked down at his motion tracker.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"What do you mean holding?" Quail asked him. Rosario showed the tracker to him. "They're moving but they're not moving _forward_. They're staying in one place," Rosario explained.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

"How the hell does _that_ work?" Private Miller asked him as she kept a grip on her shotgun.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

Harrison quickly stepped up onto a cafeteria table. "Harrison, what the _hell_ are you doing!?" Kellogg hissed at her. Harrison grabbed a small pocket-sized flashlight from her fatigue's breast pocket and used her M41B1 pulse rifle to slowly push up the ceiling tile above her.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

Slowly shining the small light into the darkness, Sasha Harrison nervously glanced around the large space between the ceiling tiles and the top of the level. Dust covered the tops of various tiles, and a small electrical box could be seen in a corner where several cables ran through it. Scanning further around the ceiling, Harrison soon saw dozens of gray and black creatures, with both ridged heads and shining domes, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Unlike the creatures from the hospital, which were black and yellow in coloration, these creatures were much like the ones that had appeared near the police APC on the city streets. They were mostly dark gray with black highlights and spots. Some of them had mottled brown or rusted tints to them in various places, and a few had a bluish hue in others, but the majority were gray with black. Also unlike the black and yellow creatures, the domes on these gray creatures were more transparent, and Harrison could see a hint of eye sockets and a nasal hole in something that vaguely resembled a human skull underneath the dome.

BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP... ... ... BEEP-BEEP...

At first, Harrison couldn't understand why the creatures had halted their advance, until she glanced around further and saw several of them forming a line as they crawled into a maintenance shaft that led up to Level B.

"You... _dirty_... _cheatin'_... _**BASTARDS!**_ " Harrison spat angrily as she realized what the creatures were doing. One of the creatures, one with a domed head, glanced towards her, parting its lips to reveal its shining metallic teeth. The creature soon let out a hiss before it lunged forward, prompting Harrison to let out a cry of fear and surprise as she fell back down to the table below.

BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP... BEEP-BEEP!

The motion trackers now went crazy as the creatures began breaking through the ceiling tiles and into the cafeteria.

"Shit! Open fire! Open fire!" Kellogg ordered as he pulled Harrison off of the table and helped get her back on her feet. A few feet away, Andersmith opened fire with his pulse rifle and sent one creature falling back to the floor with an almost mechanical-sounding shriek as more aliens dropped down into the room.

"Over there! There's more of 'em!" Rosario shouted as even more ceiling tiles gave way for the aliens to descend. The creatures seemed to defy gravity at times as their falls seemed more like graceful acrobatics than clumsy drops. As the creatures touched the floor and tabletops, however, gunfire soon filled the room as the human soldiers began holding their ground against the invading alien warriors.

Harrison aimed her pulse rifle at an approaching ridge-headed warrior and opened fire, sending two bursts into the creature as it fell back with a shriek, smoke rising from it as its blood escaped its body and made contact with the air. Harrison soon saw a domed-headed warrior crawling along the wall and she sent three bursts at it, felling that creature as well. "Get out of my home!" Harrison roared as she began targeting more of the monsters.

Quail opened fire at an incoming warrior, cursing as it ducked his fire and allowing another warrior behind it to take the heat. The creature quickly used the table in front of it to its advantage, as did many of the other warriors. The aliens began taking cover behind and under the tables, avoiding the gunfire.

"Sons of bitches!" Specialist Miller spat as his target ducked under a table. Behind the creature, more of the aliens began dropping into the room. Miller's eyes widened as the wave just kept coming.

Rosario fired at a domed warrior's head with his M16A12, cracking the cowl and blowing off part of its lower jaw with a second burst. The creature collapsed to the floor in a smoking heap before another one leapt over its body. Rosario fired another series of bursts at this one, sending it falling back.

Backpedaling over to the food dispensers, Private Kenner fired her pulse rifle at an incoming alien. The creature let out an elephantine screech as its left shoulder was blown apart by the four-round burst. Another creature quickly took its place as it bounded alongside a table, running on two legs towards Kenner. She quickly blew its legs out with a series of short bursts from her rifle, causing the creature to fall to the ground.

Another alien bounded towards Kenner, ducking beneath a table as she opened fire at it. "Come on, you son of a bitch!" Kenner spat as she tried to fire at the space between the bench and the table top. Another creature sprinted towards the table, pushing itself up onto the top of the table before leaping up onto the ceiling, twisting its body in the air to land like an upside down cat before it began crawling over towards Kenner.

Kenner aimed at it with her rifle, before she felt something grab her legs from below. She glanced down and saw the alien she had shot earlier, its legs blown off but the rest of its body still moving. "Jesus Christ! Let go of me!" Kenner shouted, catching the attention of Trudeau.

"Kenner!" Trudeau called out as she fired her M16A12 at an incoming alien, pushing it back into another creature behind it. Kenner aimed her gun down at the creature holding her legs, prompting Trudeau to shout at her. "Kenner, no! You're too close!" Trudeau shouted, just as her subordinate fired her pulse rifle into the creature's head.

The alien's blood sprayed out, hitting tables and the floor. Kenner held her rifle up to block the blood, but some of it hit her legs. She let out a cry of pain as the blood began eating through her fatigues and into her legs. "Aargh! Sh-Shit!" Kenner cried out in agony as she fell onto her back. The alien that had hid under a table earlier quickly abandoned its hiding spot to attack the downed woman.

Trudeau spotted this and fired at the alien. The creature let out a scream as it swerved sideways and slammed into a metal cabinet under the counter holding the food dispensers. Another one quickly took its place, while the alien that had leapt onto the ceiling quickly jumped down in front of Kenner. "Kenner!" Trudeau cried out as she prepared to fire at it, only to see two aliens making their way towards her. She quickly turned at fired at them, sending them searching for cover. Beside her, Cox fired his shotgun at an alien in the back, hitting it in the head and blowing it apart before it fell forward onto the floor.

Trudeau returned her attention to Kenner, who had used her pulse as a crutch as she tried crawling away in search of cover. "Kenner, over here!" Trudeau called out as she slowly made her way through the tables to get to Kenner. She watched in horror as more aliens broke through the ceiling and crawled down over the food dispensers.

Kenner saw them and raised her rifle to fire at them, only to cry out in surprise as another alien rushed her and grabbed her rifle, scurrying off with it as it ran over her. "N-No!" Kenner cried out before she reached down to grab her sidearm. The other aliens quickly leapt to the floor and ganged up on her, grabbing her arms and pinning them to the floor beside her.

"Liz, help!" Kenner cried out as she struggled against the aliens swarming over her, until one of them uncurled its tail and shot it forward, impaling the barb into Kenner's shoulder. A look of dismay came over Trudeau's face as another alien grabbed Kenner's face and covered her mouth and nose with its six-fingered hand before grabbing her throat with the other one, roughly cutting off her oxygen supply until she passed out. Trudeau aimed her rifle to fire at the creatures as they began dragging the unconscious soldier up the walls and into the ceiling, just before she heard Cox shout viciously beside her.

Turning her attention to the man next to her, Trudeau watched in surprise and frustration as the man leapt onto a table and began firing at the incoming creatures. "Cox, get the fuck down from there!" Trudeau called out, just before she aimed her rifle and opened fire at an alien emerging from under a nearby table, blowing its ridged head apart. Next to her, Cox kneeled down on the table and fired selectively at the incoming horde. He took out one alien after another, even as they tried using the tables as cover, his position giving him an advantage to aim further downward.

"Can't hide now, can ya!?" Cox called out sadistically as he blew one alien's left arm off before finishing it off with another blast from his shotgun. He quickly reloaded and aimed at another one crawling on the ceiling nearby. The creature fell to the floor with a screech as the back of its head was blown apart.

All throughout the cafeteria, the sound of gunfire echoed as the battle raged on. Soon, however, the soldiers began to feel overwhelmed. "There are too many!" Kellogg shouted as he blew the left arm off of an approaching alien, before shooting it in the chest and sending it falling to the ground. He glanced over his shoulder at the entrance doors to the kitchen.

"Fall back! Fall back to the kitchen! Trudeau, Miller, Cox! Move!" Kellogg shouted, his rank giving him authority over the other squad's surviving soldiers. "Andersmith... Andersmith!?" Kellogg called out, just before he saw the man in question pushing a window open.

"Andersmith, what the hell are you doing!?" Kellogg asked him. Andersmith looked at Kellogg with fear in his eyes. "We can't beat 'em! Not in here! We're trapped!" Andersmith shouted in response before climbing out the window.

"Private, get your ass back in here!" Kellogg shouted at the retreating man. Andersmith was already fully out the window by now, his fatigues quickly darkening in color as the rain came down and soaked him. Kellogg watched in both frustration and dismay as the soldier quickly disappeared into the storm outside, before refocusing his attention on the incoming swarm of alien monsters.

"Just fucking _die!_ " Specialist Miller yelled as he fired his pulse rifle at an alien rushing towards him on all fours like a baboon. The creature screeched as it toppled over, smoke rising from the wounds on its body and the places on the floor where its blood had splattered. "Who's next!?" Miller shouted before he targeted another creature nearby.

"Miller, come on!" Trudeau yelled out as she began making her way back to the doors to the kitchen. "Miller!" she shouted again as he and Cox laid down covering fire. As Miller emptied his gun and reloaded a fresh magazine, he soon found himself falling back to the floor as the table next to him was pushed up and slammed into him, forcing him to lose his footing.

"Cox, help!" Miller cried out as the gray and black monsters quickly rushed towards him. He grabbed for his pulse rifle, only to yell in surprise as one of them leapt on top of him and pushed him back onto the floor. It quickly uncurled its tail from behind its back and stabbed its barb into Miller's shoulder. Miller let out a cry as two sets of six-fingered hands grabbed him and began dragging him away.

Trudeau gulped as she fired a burst from her rifle at another alien scurrying under a table. It became increasingly clear to her, however, that the aliens were simply too great in number to contain as the soldiers' own numbers began to dwindle. "Kellogg, we're outnumbered! They're gonna overwhelm us if we don't do something!" Trudeau cried out as the aliens kept gaining ground.

Recognizing the increasing severity of the situation, Kellogg once more gave the order to retreat, laying down cover fire as the rest of his soldiers quickly made their way to the kitchen doors. "Harrison, Quail! Protect the pilots!" Kellogg shouted as he saw the four dropship crew members firing at the aliens with their submachine guns to very little affect. Lieutenant Bing Lewdanksi only managed to bring down one of the creatures after emptying half of his SMG's magazine into the beast.

"Pilots, conserve your ammo and just get into the kitchen. Get into the storage rooms! They're solid and don't have big enough ducts for these things to climb in!" Kellogg shouted, remembering his one failed effort to fix a broken fan in one of the storage rooms' air vents several years earlier. As the soldiers continued retreating, Kellogg soon noticed that Cox was lagging behind.

"Cox, let's move!" Kellogg shouted as he neared the kitchen doors.

Cox simply continued firing at the aliens, until he stopped to reload and one of them leapt forward. Cox quickly finished reloading and yelled out as the creature rushed towards him. He quickly turned to the side and then jabbed the butt of the gun's stock into the alien's head, stunning it briefly as it staggered back. Cox then turned to face it as he backed up by a foot and prepared to open fire, just as another alien rushed him and pushed him back against the wall.

Cox quickly jabbed the barrel of the gun into the alien's chest. "Cox, don't!" Kellogg shouted in warning. Cox ignored him and quickly fired into the alien's chest, blowing out its back but also sending its blood spurting forward with a second shot, blowing the creature's torso apart. "Ah! Hhuuaaaaaaarrghghh!" Cox cried out as he was soon showered in alien blood.

Kellogg watched in horror and dismay as Cox was overwhelmed by the alien blood, his cries and gurgles filling the air as he was eaten down to the bone. Kellogg quickly retreated back into the kitchen and closed the doors behind him, grabbing a metal spoon and shoving it between the kitchen's almost primitive traditional swinging-door handles. He then turned around and grabbed some knives from a kitchen drawer and jogged over to the storage hallway, where at least four storage rooms, three coolers, and one freezer were located.

His urgency was increased by the pounding of the creatures' limbs and heads on the kitchen doors, until the metal spoon was jostled loose and it fell to the floor with a clang. Kellogg did not look back as he searched for what was left of his squad. He did not scream or shout as the aliens quickly invaded the kitchen in their search for prey.

* * *

 **PRIMARY OPERATIONS CENTER...**

"Brreeeaaanhhnggchch!" one of the aliens screeched as its arms were blown off from pulse rifle fire. Lieutenant Dent quickly changed targets after seeing another creature emerge from a floor panel nearby. The creature's head was blown to chunks from Dent's pulse rifle before he saw another target crawling up a wall.

Beside Dent, Captain Rosenthal used an M16A12 to take down another alien crawling under a desk. "Sons of bitches just don't stop!" Rosenthal swore as he saw another creature emerge from a floor panel. He quickly fired his rifle before hearing a click and ejecting the magazine to reload. "Reloading! Cover me!" Rosenthal barked at Dent. Dent nodded his head in acknowledgement as he continued firing at the incoming hostiles.

The sounds of gunfire and alien screeches filled the room as the soldiers of Eagle Squad found themselves under assault from gray and black nightmares. When the siege had started, Lieutenant Dent and Fire Team January had still been in the hallway, but when it became apparent that they were more vulnerable in the corridors than in the operations center, they had made a hasty retreat. It was sheer luck that they had managed to regroup just before the creatures had begun entering the room through the floor and ceiling tiles, in addition to simply waltzing in through the doors, pushing and shoving past each other in a frenzied attempt to get at the humans inside the room.

Over behind a barricade of pushed-over tables, Sergeant Estevez and three other soldiers were busy fending off incoming creatures, which were swarming all over the place. Over near the windows of the room, three more soldiers had huddled together behind a short barricade made from chairs and a table. The creatures hadn't noticed them just yet, as they were separated from the rest of the squad and hadn't fired their weapons just yet.

Over in a corner, Private First Class Rihana Jameson, a smartgunner for Eagle Squad, was busy using an M41B1 pulse rifle to fend off approaching aliens as she made her way over to a barricade. As soon as she sent another creature falling back, she lunged into a sprint and leaped over a table before taking cover near a cable pillar next to Captain Rosenthal and Lieutenant Dent. "This is a nice fuckin' party, ain't it!?" Jameson asked sardonically as she cast a glance over at Rosenthal, who responded with a shrug before firing at an alien crawling on the ceiling.

"Less talking, more shooting!" Rosenthal barked at her. Jameson nodded her head before taking aim and hitting an approaching monster in the torso with a burst from her gun. She sent a second burst its way to keep it down.

Meanwhile, back by the window, Private Felicia Perez fired her pulse rifle at an incoming alien, blowing off an arm before taking the front of its head off with another burst. Next to her, Private Andrew Peterson used a tactical shotgun to blow the legs off of an alien emerging from the floor. "Motherfuckers go home!" Peterson spat at the creatures. Now the rest of the monsters were _fully_ aware of their positions.

"Fuck!" Perez swore as the creatures began to converge on their position. Crouching next to Perez and Peterson, Specialist Harold Dumas fired his M16A12 at the incoming aliens, before his gun jammed. "What the-come on!" Dumas screamed in anger as he quickly tried to fix the problem. "Here let me-aah!" Perez screamed as she turned to help Dumas, only to be grabbed by an alien that had crawled along the ceiling over to the windows. The creature quickly pulled her up from the floor before another alien leapt over the barricade and pushed Dumas to the floor and stung him in the neck with the barb on its tail.

Peterson quickly noticed the breach and pulled himself out of the barricade, running and gunning his way over to the rest of the squad.

"Peterson, this way!" Estevez shouted as he fired his pulse rifle at an alien chasing the soldier, blowing one of its front limbs off and sending it falling to the side as it began flopping around to regain its footing. Peterson was almost at the barricade when a floor panel opened up in front of him. He had too much momentum and inertia to slow down, so he tried changing direction, only to slip and fall.

"Peterson!" Estevez shouted as he fired at an alien running towards the man. The creature let out a squeal as its torso was ripped apart by pulse rifle fire before falling to the ground. More aliens bounded along on all fours like baboons as they approached the fallen Peterson. Estevez focused his efforts on those particular creatures to give Peterson a chance, but his ammo counter was showing that he was getting low, and he wouldn't be able to hit all of them before he needed to reload.

"Sarge!" Peterson shouted as he reached for his shotgun to protect himself. He then felt something grab his legs and looked down to see a gray and black arm with six digits on its hand wrap around his ankle, before a second one appeared. He grabbed his shotgun and aimed the barrel at the creature, only for another one to scurry over and jab him in the shoulder with the barb on its tail. Peterson cried out as he was quickly pulled over to the floor panel by the alien.

Using his remaining strength, he reached for his sidearm, only to feel an inhuman hand grab his arms and pin them to his side before he was shoved down into the floor, disappearing into the darkness with a scream. The alien above him prepared to follow its companions, only for a burst of pulse rifle fire to blow its lower jaws off and riddle the rest of its head with holes. "You fuckers!" Estevez swore in fury as he fired at multiple creatures, missing a few and hitting desks and computers instead.

"Check your fire! Check your fire!" Private Karl Sampson shouted at Estevez. His warnings went unheeded through the gunfire and alien screeches filling the air. "Sarge, don't waste your ammo!" Sampson shouted as Estevez ejected the spent magazine from his pulse rifle and inserted a fresh one.

Just as Estevez was about to take aim again, the floor panels underneath him and Sampson were pushed open. "Jesus!" Sampson cried out as dark arms and clawed hands grabbed him and Estevez, quickly pulling them both down into the darkness. The two men were gone in seconds, with only two brief bursts from Estevez and Sampson's weapons being heard and seen as both soldiers were absconded with by the monsters into the darkness below.

A few feet away, Private Lianne Benson panicked after seeing her squad leader disappear under the floor. "No! No! This can't be happening! No!" she cried out in terror as the aliens began to make headway in the room.

"Everyone, fall back behind the barricade!" Dent shouted, urging the rest of the squad to regroup with him and Rosenthal.

The remaining soldiers quickly obeyed the order.

As Private Benson moved to retreat, however, she saw one of the creatures barreling towards her. She raised her M16A12 and fired at it, hitting it in the head. Two more creatures advanced in its place, and Benson fired again as she retreated, blowing the legs off one of them, while other kept moving. Benson fired again, hitting it in the abdomen, but it kept moving.

She aimed higher, only to hear a click when her magazine ran dry. "Shit!" she cursed as she tried to eject the empty magazine. The creature lunged forward, pushing her back against the floor before it opened its mouth with a hiss and extended its inner jaw. The creature then slammed its inner jaws into Benson's forehead, killing her in seconds.

The creature then let out a screech as its arms were blown off and its torso was shredded by gunfire from Captain Rosenthal. As the rest of the soldiers entered the barricade and took up defensive positions, Rosenthal looked around. The small white lights of the room gave the whole location and eerie feel as gunfire briefly illuminated shadowy areas. Knowing where the aliens were coming from, Rosenthal began to formulate a plan.

* * *

Inside the primary recreation room, Lieutenant Hargrove and Python Squad found themselves backed up against the windows as they created a defensive barricade with overturned chairs and tables. Some of the soldiers had grabbed their laptops and were currently trying to monitor the outside defenses as their comrades kept the creatures at bay. Huddling next to Lieutenant Hargrove, Sergeant Thomas King reloaded his M16A12 assault rifle before rising up and firing at an alien just before it dived under a table. The creature let out a screech as the gun's rounds tore into it and blew apart its left arm and one of its dorsal tubes.

King grinned before firing another burst into the creature's head. The monsters had proven themselves to be quite resilient and determined, still moving even after losing multiple limbs. Unfortunately, the creatures' blood was also eating away at the carpeting of the room's floor, exposing the bare metal grating and ceramic tiles of the floor structure underneath.

Crouching behind an overturned table, Private First Class Emily LaSalla peeked over her cover and fired her pulse rifle at an alien crawling on the ceiling. The creature fell with a screech as it was torn apart by more bursts from LaSalla's weapon. Smoke rose into the air from the body as another alien scurried on by.

As the creatures tried to overcome Python Squad's barricade, they found themselves facing defeat, as the floor of the room was not one that the creatures could easily crawl under, and the barricade was located at a position where all angles of attack were covered by the defenders. As dead aliens littered the floor, the creatures began doing something uncharacteristic of them so far. They began to retreat.

"Hey! Where're ya goin' baby!? We ain't done yet!" Private First Class Owen Futterman called out at the retreating aliens. "Ah, who needs ya!? Go ahead! Run back home and cry to mama!" Futterman spat mockingly as the creatures disappeared into the open holes of the ceiling.

"Private, don't get cocky," Hargrove snapped at him. Futterman glanced at Hargrove with a frown before adjusting his M16A12 to aim it at the holes in the ceiling, watching and waiting to see if the creatures would return. They were sneaky that way.

* * *

 **THE GENERATOR ROOM, LEVEL D...**

" _Can you get to the storage room and help Rook seal the breach?_ " Captain Rosenthal asked over the headset. Muldoon pulled back and reloaded his pulse rifle as Sanchez fired another round from his shotgun at the approaching horde. Looking over the small barricade that he and Sanchez had formed with an overturned work bench in front of the doorway, Muldoon shook his head.

"Negative, Sir. That is a negative. We cannot compromise the security of the generators by abandoning our position," Muldoon said into the mike as Sanchez fired another blast. He was rewarded with the shriek of an alien in the hallway as one of its legs was blown off from its body.

Muldoon glanced away from the sight to give Sanchez a very brief thumbs-up. "If even one of us leaves the generator room alone, those things will waltz right in here and rip everything apart. These things aren't dumb, Captain, and they aren't gonna leave this area alone either," Muldoon before Sanchez signalled that he needed to reload.

Muldoon nodded his head and stepped into the barricade's opening. Initially, the two soldiers had simply closed the doors, but when the creatures displayed a primitive understanding of how to open doors by pressing big obvious buttons and pulling handles, the two men knew that constantly trying to close the door each time would leave them vulnerable to attacks from the opened shafts in the room by diverting their attention. Having the doors open would also leave them vulnerable, but at least they would be able to see the creatures coming.

Muldoon and Sanchez had already managed to close the hatches to the maintenance shafts and ducts, sealing them tight and using a welding torch in certain spots to make any attempts at entry difficult for the creatures. They didn't dare weld the doors shut, knowing that they were the only other way out of the room. With all other possible entry points sealed, the only option for the creatures was the opened door with the barricade inside, giving both soldiers a perfect view and turning the hallway into a makeshift firing range.

As Sanchez reloaded, began counting how many of the creatures he'd already killed. "I've got seven so far," he said. Muldoon glanced at him after firing at an alien, just before the creature hid behind an alcove. "What?" Muldoon asked him.

" _I didn't say anything_ ," Rosenthal said over the headset.

"Not you, Captain. I was talking to Sanchez," Muldoon explained before glancing back into the hallway.

"I said I've killed seven," Sanchez reiterated.

"You mean you've _hit_ seven. You've only killed _four_ ," Muldoon corrected him before firing another burst from his pulse rifle. "Three of those bastards were still moving when I shot-stay down, ya bastard!" Muldoon shouted as he fired at an alien crawling on the wall. "As I said, I had to finish three of them for you," Muldoon added.

" _Are you guys having a_ _ **contest**_ _down there!?_ " Rosenthal asked incredulously over the headset.

"Affirmative!" Muldoon replied before opening fire at an alien peeking out from behind an alcove. The creature quickly retreated behind the wall to avoid the gunfire. "Shit! They're learning to take cover. That's gonna drain our ammo," Muldoon muttered.

"You know, maybe we ought to just close the damn door and fucking _lock it_ ," Sanchez suggested. Muldoon looked at him and nodded his head in agreement. "I mean, we've already sealed the other entrance points. Why not?" Sanchez continued.

"You know... screw it, let's do it," Muldoon said before hitting the CLOSE button on the door, blasting away at an alien bounding through the corridor before the door finally shut. He quickly locked the door manually and backed up with Sanchez over to the primary generator cage. A loud series of banging could soon be heard from the other side of the door.

" _What's happening down there?_ " Rosenthal asked over the headset.

"We've made a strategic retreat, Captain. We're holing up in the generator room and locking the door. We're going silent to stay hidden. Let us know when the storm blows over. Muldoon out," Muldoon responded before turning off his headset. Sanchez quickly did the same.

"You fully reloaded?" Muldoon asked Sanchez quietly.

"Yep. Now we just gotta play the waiting game," Sanchez replied. Muldoon nodded his head in agreement as he kept his pulse rifle trained on the door, listening as each bang against it became louder. It was like a thunder storm raging in the corridor as the creatures kept trying to get inside the room.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

Muldoon and Sanchez both quietly looked over their remaining ammo supplies.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

They were running low. Muldoon had one spare magazine left, and Sanchez only had eight more rounds left for his shotgun. Both men still had their sidearms and a spare magazine for each one, but they both knew that there wouldn't be much point in using the smaller guns if their main weapons ran dry, except to prevent the creatures from using them as _living_ hosts.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

After several more minutes, however, the pounding on the door went silent. Both men kept their eyes trained on the door before glancing at each other questioningly. Dozens of questions ran through both men's heads. Why did the creatures stop? Had they given up? Were they searching for another way into the room? Had they decided to search for other prey? Or were the creatures simply waiting in ambush, hoping that their silence would trick the men into opening the doors for them?

With an enemy as alien and unpredictable as these creatures were proving to be, anything was possible. After at least ten minutes of waiting, Sanchez finally began crouch-walking over to the door. Muldoon gestured for him to hold back, only for Sanchez to point over at his motion tracker. Muldoon quickly unslung the device and looked at it. The screen was blank. There was no sign of movement.

Looking back up at Sanchez, Muldoon finally nodded his head to give him the OK to unlock the door. Sanchez quickly stepped back after unlocking it and aimed his shotgun at the door, waiting for anything to happen. After another three minutes of waiting, both men prepared to open the door.

Slowly, carefully, Sanchez pressed the OPEN button on the door's control panel, and the two halves began to slide open. Muldoon quickly took up a position just beyond the barricade as Sanchez stood by the door's control panel. Both men watched and waited with bated breath as the thick metal door slowly opened, fearfully anticipating what could be waiting for them on the other side.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter 09 of EPIDEMIC. I'm ending it on a slight cliffhanger for now.

As you may have noticed, this particular chapter contains the most similarities to _ALIENS_ (1986), especially the final battle in the operations center. I guess I can't really do a story with soldiers or Marines fighting the xenomorphs without paying tribute to that. Hopefully, I made the xenomorphs' raid on the base different enough that it doesn't feel like I did a copy and paste of the final battle. I wanted there to be certain references and similarities, but only in a general sense. I hope that I did things differently enough that The Raid stands out on its own.

Anyway, as I promised, I used the A22 strain, or the Classic Alien strain in this chapter, in the form of both the warriors _and_ the runners. Now, some people may think that the runner from Alien 3 was brown, but the suit was actually gray. It simply appeared brown due to the lighting and the rustic coloration of the environment the movie took place in.

Originally, I also wanted to have a praetorian make an appearance again, but then I realized that the soldiers would then have to try to escape because something that big would, of course, just tear right through the fences. That would then lead to everyone, you know, trying to escape, and the whole chapter would then become a drawn-out ripoff of the final battle from _ALIENS_ , complete with an air vent escape.

As much as I love paying tribute to _ALIENS_ , I wanted to avoid doing that... in this particular story, at least.

Also, if no one has caught on yet, the character of Muldoon _is_ named after Robert Muldoon from Jurassic Park. He looks and sounds nothing like the character in either the book or Steven Spielberg's film adaptation, however. I just like the name.

Also, the character of Owen Futterman _is_ named after Murray Futterman from the _Gremlins_ films, because I fucking _LOVE_ those movies.

Anyway, the next chapter will have the surviving soldiers of Colonial Army Base A-001 finally initiating the first phase of their plan to evacuate the remaining civilians of Diamond Valley via Operation Exodus. What exactly are the details of this operation? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out, which may take a while with just how many hours I'm being given at work both this week and in the coming week. It may take longer for me to finish and post things than I had anticipated, for _ALL_ of my stories.

As always, please let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews!


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